AWEJ for Translation & Literary Studies, Volume 6, Number1. February 2022 Pp.20 -29
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awejtls/vol6no1.2
The Hierarchy of Oppression, from Authoritarianism to Misogyny: A Study in the
Monodrama of Mamdouh ʿUdwan
Samar Zahrawi
Department of World Languages and Cultures
College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Sam Houston State University
Huntsville, TX, USA.
Corresponding Author szahrawi@shsu.edu
Received:12/22/2021 Accepted: 1/27/2022 Published: 2/24/2022
Abstract
This paper will focus on the drama of the Syrian dramatist and poet Mamdouh ʿUdwan (1941-2004), who has not yet received due critical attention. During his twenty years writing for the stage, ʿUdwan resisted oppressive political regimes and was consequently marginalized and impoverished. Due to censorship, his drama does not delineate the free society that he dreams of, nor does it openly censure the sources of corruption. On the contrary, he creates ambiguous male characters who enjoy a measure of dignity and social decorum but simultaneously unravel their toxic masculinity and oppressive nature. On the other hand, women are kept offstage and are victims of either male chauvinism or social hypocrisy. This study will follow the unmasking of male authority and its parallel to political and economic hegemony. The purpose is to critique the values of Arab culture, which customarily cements male privilege. An analytical study of the form and content of ʿUdwan’s monodramas That’s Life (1987), The Garbage Collector (1987), and The Cannibals (1984) will link oppressive social behavior to political autocracy. It suggests that misogyny and oppression of women are consequences of men feeling crushed by dictatorship and corruption.
Keywords: Arabic drama, authoritarianism, censorship, corruption, dictatorship, domestic abuse, gynophobia, MamdouhʿUdwan, madness, misogyny, monodrama, oppression of women, Syrian drama, toxic masculinity, tyranny
Cite as: Zahrawi, S. (2022) The Hierarchy of Oppression, from Authoritarianism to Misogyny: A Study in the Monodrama of Mamdouh ʿUdwan. Arab World English Journal for Translation & Literary Studies 6(1) 20 -29.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awejtls/vol6no1.2
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