Reflections on interview with Nawal El Saadawi
Forum: Reflections on interview with Nawal El Saadawi
Directions: Compose a post in which you present:
1) Something you learned or thought was interesting from the interview, and
2) Something you have a question about or want to know more about from the interview.
3) Reply to at least TWO other students (100 words).
Hi there~ So for the question 3) I need to reply two other students. Right now only 1 classmate post his discussion, I’ll post later when another one post.
One of the discussion:
Nawal El Saadawi’s interview with Harriet Gilbert is very interesting because she gave so many insightful answers in terms of writing. One of the most interesting insights she gave was that she “does not separate fiction from facts because every work, every language, every novel, every book is made because it is not reality.” She also adds, “You cannot really write reality; you have to make it… Creativity means that you write reality in a better way than reality.” This is something she said early on in the interview, and it already influenced how I would approach this book because based on El Saadawi’s writing style, it is clear that there are bits and pieces of fact and fiction in the novel. I particularly like what she said about creativity because it really is a refreshing way of understanding what the word means. Through El Saadawi’s definition, I would not be surprised to apply this same criterion when I read other books or view other artworks. This definition really pushes the boundaries for writers and other artists because it shows that art is grounded in anything that is real.
That being said, there are a number of things that I want to know more about El Saadawi based on the interview. When asked about separating fact from fiction and language and music, it appears as if she says that writing is a holistic experience, at least for her because she does not separate these elements, elements that other writers sometimes distinguish. During the other half of the interview, when she was asked whether or not she has lost hope about women having better experiences and being treated more fairly, El Saadawi says that Firdaus losing hope does not mean that she, the author, has lost hope as well. I am interested in knowing what parts of her life are true to the story and what parts are “made up.” The reason I want to know this is because knowing that some aspects of the novel is her story will certainly make me appreciate both the novel and the author more. Moreover, I would like to know if El Saadawi sees herself as a feminist given that she fights for women’s rights especially in her home country.
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