THE REPRESENTATION OF FEMINIST IDEAS THROUGH THE COMMUNITY OF FEMALE VOICES IN DREAMS OF TRESPASS

Abstract

This research analyzes a literary work written by Moroccan woman about women’s experiences in the harem. It is the novel of Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood by Fatima Mernissi as the case study of this research work. It is a memoir of Fatima Mernissi’s girlhood in harem in Fez in Morocco, in 1940s. In her autobiography, she retells her life experiences and her women’s relatives and their own reactions about the harem life and its rules. Mernissi through the novel depicts women their life of harem about its traditions and rituals, and the desire for gaining their dreams and freedom. This study is to examine feminist ideas through the community of female voices in Dreams of Trespass. The research method used is a qualitative method. The data source is taken from the novel Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood (1994) by analyzing, taking notes from the story, and illustrating through quotations. The main findings of this research are that harem culture is based on patriarchal system where women are restricted and oppressed through unequal treatment. However, there are some female characters who do not keep silent and they try to convey some feminist ideas to Fatima Mernissi in different ways. Thus, the main conclusions which are drawn from this research are that gender equality, freedom, and education are the main feminist thoughts that are represented by female characters in the novel Dreams of Trespass. Those feminist ideas are transmitted to Mernissi by the various ways such as: by encouragement to education, giving pieces of advice, and telling the stories in the theater.