Feminist Identity between Alienation and Reconstruction: An Exploration of Contemporary Algerian Feminist Fiction

Abstract

Feminist identity represents one of the most significant issues explored in contemporary
Algerian fiction, as this literary production has sought to challenge the various forms of
domination that have deprived women of their ability to freely define themselves, confining
them to socially and domestically imposed roles. Consequently, women have been exposed
to multiple forms of marginalization and violence, resulting in the fragmentation of their
identity and the disruption of their self-perception. Feminist fiction has thus attempted to
reshape women’s awareness of themselves and their identities. This article examines several
dimensions, including the representation of identity crisis and self-alienation through
characters subjected to oppression and domination while confronting a repressive
patriarchal society. It also explores rebellion as a mechanism of resistance against social
reality and as a revolt against injustice. Finally, it addresses the assertion of selfhood and
the destabilization of masculine authority, representing a phase of reconstruction through
the recovery of identity and freedom and the deconstruction of patriarchal power.
Accordingly, how has contemporary Algerian feminist fiction represented the dialectic of
feminist identity between alienation and reconstruction? Has it succeeded in producing an
alternative discourse on women and their identities?