South Island School Centre Number: 003258

English A1 HIGHER LEVEL

May 2012 Exam Session

World Literature Assignment 1

Word Count: 1484

TITLE: How do the authors – Nawal El Sadaawi in Woman at Point Zero and Patrick

Suskind in Perfume – portray gender identity as a point of conflict?

Name: Anahita Sharma

Candidate Session Number: 003258-138

How do the authors – El Sadaawi in Woman at Point Zero and Suskind in Perfume – portray gender as a point of

conflict?

In both Perfume, by Patrick Suskind and translated from German to English by

John E. Woods, and Woman at Point Zero (hereafter referred to as ‘Woman’), by

Nawal El Saadawi and translated from Arabic to English by Sherif Hetata, gender

representation creates conflict within their socio-historical contexts. Conflict here is

the “a struggle between opposing forces” 1: masculinity and femininity. These are

embedded via the protagonists’ transformative journeys within repressive cultural

settings.

Conflict exists on both an external masculine-feminine level and within each

gender; the authors create gender spectrums through their characters in which they

depict male and female as two extremes. Suskind constructs his protagonist,

Grenouille, as a sexless antihero. Grenouille’s olfactory ability is employed as a

synesthetic tool in descriptions to reinstate his sense of superiority: he is repulsed by

the “primitive human effluvium” p. 149 of society and subsequently cannot conform

to gender ideals. This repulsion is illustrated through a hyperbolic response when he

finally achieves absolute solitude in his cave: “[erupts] with thundering jubilation”.

The ‘erupts’ and ‘thundering’ are metaphors for the intensity of his joy, a key point

given that Suskind rarely elicits emotion in Grenouille. Whenever Suskind refers to

what it is to be a man, Grenouille is portrayed as the antithesis. For example, “the

most precious thing a man possesses, his own honour” p. 53 is reinforced by the

possessive ‘his’ and ‘own’. Grenouille, however, possesses no such honour as a

metaphorical “lump of humankind” p. 72. Only scent has the power to incite him -

“overwhelmed, disarmed, helpless before the magic of his girl” p. 171. The use of a

triplet emphasizes his emotional response, and the possessive ‘his’ foreshadows his

relationship with her scent. Otherwise, he reserves himself “to move undisturbed in

the world of men” p. 184, a world of which he is never truly a part.

In Woman, Firdaus’ femininity is strongly associated with the the female body,

which is violated, “swollen eyes... a bruised face... no one paid any attention” p.47.

El Saadawi’s repetition of this abuse creates strong binary opposition between

genders, no doubt emphasized by the narrative voice (limited omniscience) which

describes men with sarcasm and resentment: “expression of great humility... a man

stricken to his depths.” p.27. This is established by the narrator from the beginning:

How do the authors – El Sadaawi in Woman at Point Zero and Suskind in Perfume – portray gender as a point of

conflict?

1 <http://www.dowlingcentral.com/MrsD/area/literature/Terms/conflict.html>

“picture of a man... I would spit on it” p. 9, an enigmatic action that lays a thesis to be

justified throughout the novel. The cumulative effect of pejorative adjectives to

describe men adds meaning to this binary opposition: the victimization of women is

understood best in the context of the cruelty of the men she encounters. There is

perpetual contrast between the misogynistic, quantifiable view of the female body,

“breasts... belly... between the thighs” p. 52-3, and Firdaus’ self-perception, “The

price of my body is much higher than the price can be paid for it” p. 81. Her role as a

prostitute and her roles as a working and married woman are juxtaposed - in the

former, she is, ironically, more emancipated, but, by definition, less “respectable.” p.

76. This alienates Firdaus, who perceives little escape as a female.

Both Suskind and El Saadawi classify their protagonists as outcasts who face

conflict in self identification. Whereas gender conflict arises out of an external

opposition between men and women in Woman, it is apparent through an internal

conflict in Perfume: if not for his attraction to feminine scent, what makes Grenouille

a man?

Both authors illustrate gender inequalities. In Perfume, women are associated

with misfortune from the exposition: Grenouille’s mother has few options in life is

subsequently “decapitated” p. 6 for infanticide. When wet nurse Jeanne seeks

assistance, she is treated with paralleled impatience by both a police officer and a

priest: “wished that this female would... go home and let him alone with her suckling

problems.” p. 8. The priest elevates himself as a man, possessing a “high opinion of

his own critical faculties.” p.13-14. Suskind operates a system in which women are

excluded from the sphere of skilled trade - or “true craftsmen” p. 54 - and relegated to

passive or nurturing roles in which they are belittled - a gender conflict.

In Woman, there are discrepancies on many levels. In terms of educational

opportunity, “[her uncle] would laugh and explain that El Azhar was only for men.” p.

14. In religion, the pious devotion men show compared to women - “Verily, we are

full of gratitude for everything he has bestowed upon us.” p. 39 - is ironic in that these

bestowments are not equally shared between males and females. Politically, El

Saadawi uses amplification and distinctio to expand and define revolution -

“Something to be abused. Something to be sold.” p. 96. El Saadawi, from Firdaus’

point of view, makes an analogy between revolution and sex in terms of the

How do the authors – El Sadaawi in Woman at Point Zero and Suskind in Perfume – portray gender as a point of

conflict?

hypocrisies of men. Throughout the novel, we encounter men who invariably abuse

her; El Saadawi defines this through listing all the male gender roles under one

category: “the fathers, the uncles, the pimps, the lawyers... men of all professions” p.

110. This statement is explored through her recurring experiences with men; their

abusive behaviours are motifs that define Firdaus’ life.

In both Perfume and Woman, gender conflict is created by this unequal division

of socio-economic power.

In both novels, the innocent female incites obsession. In Perfume, scent is used

to characterize females: “a scent so terrifying celestial” p. 171. Women are portrayed

as unearthly: “dazzlingly white skin... infinitely tender” p. 170-1. The metaphorical

power of their beauty is reinforced by Grenouille’s proclivity for the virginal scent.

Men, however, do not possess like qualities in scent, but instead, “[stink] of sweat and

semen” p. 181, the sibilance underscoring their stench. This synesthetic effect is also

achieved in Woman, as El Saadawi uses syntactic parallelism with verbs for emphasis,

“nodding their heads... rubbing their heads... clearing their throats with a rasping

noise... scratching under the armpits” p.11 to build vile, onomatopoeic, sensory

images.

The antithesis to the above female archetype is robust and financially

independent. In Perfume, Madame Gaillard, like Firdaus, has suffered at the hands of

men, rendering her metaphorically - emotionally - “numbed” p. 19. Similarly, in

Woman, Sharifa attests that, “[she is] hard, terribly hard” p. 57, on a sentient level. El

Saadawi initially constructs Sharifa as a maternal figure with the repetition of her

comforting eyes: “radiating a strong, green light, the colour of the trees, and the sky,

and the waters of the Nile”. The euphonic vowel rhyme (‘sky’, ‘Nile’) and the use of

peaceful natural images to construct a sense of trust is juxtaposed by Sharifa’s

betrayal. Male or female, there is no one Firdaus can trust. Whilst distinctly feminine,

she embodies none of the female archetypes, highlighting the complexity of the first-

person narrator relative to the subjects of her description.

Masculine representation centers around a macho desire for women, status, and

wealth. In Woman, Firdaus describes men as with an oxymoronic “aggressiveness that

seemed strangely servile” p. 12, associating an external attitude with an internal

weakness. This oxymoron is comparable to Baldini’s behaviour as a man in Perfume

How do the authors – El Sadaawi in Woman at Point Zero and Suskind in Perfume – portray gender as a point of

conflict?

- at home, Baldini “[orders] his wife” p.102. p. At work - demonstrated through the

the diction of his body language - he is submissive to the customer: “a small,

scrambling figure... bows and scrapes” p. 46. Conflict is created through the

juxtaposition of feminine purity and innocence with masculine crudity and deception.

Both novels construct temporal change within their settings. In Perfume, the

Age of Enlightenment is redefining gender roles. Suskind portrays this through a

gradual disruption of the hierarchal order of Baldini’s world. When Baldini’s voice

(limited omniscience) observes - “People reading books, even women” p.57 - the

addition of the ‘even‘ is derisive and implies an extreme case. Suskind addresses the

reader with “for us moderns” p. 99, distancing the audience from the temporal setting

of the novel so we empathize less with his characters. This aesthetic distance is

minimized in Woman, where the narrator divulges her emotions through first-person

recollection and analepsis (flash-back). We share her first epiphany through a

rhetorical question - “Was it possible that a mere piece of paper could make such a

change?” p. 71. Money is a symbol of power by masculine standards; Firdaus

liberates herself through this epiphany. Some attributes of culture do not reflect

temporal change. In Perfume, the act of sex is salient, but in Woman, is layered with

humiliation and silence. This is shown by the discreet manner in which men approach

Firdaus, “agree quietly without a fuss” p. 67. In Perfume, sex is romanticized, “the

charms of a lover” p. 236. The art of seduction is exposed, not hidden as it is in

Woman, hence gender conflicts are more implicit in the latter.

Gender conflict is central to Woman; the title itself is on behalf of the gender. In

Perfume, the representation of women is significant in terms of their scent. Men, by

contrast, hold political and economic authority in both novels. However, neither

representation is uniform, as we meet other archetypal gender stereotypes within the

same contexts.

Bibliography

El, Saadawi Nawal. Woman at Point Zero. London: Zed, 2007. Print.

Süskind, Patrick. Perfume. London: Penguin Classics, 2010. Print.

How do the authors – El Sadaawi in Woman at Point Zero and Suskind in Perfume – portray gender as a point of

conflict?