The representation of the feminine identity crisis in the narrator character of the novel Kawabis Beirut based on Karen Horney's theory

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Master student in Arabic Literature, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, University of Semnan, Semnan, Iran.

2 Associate Professor of Arabic Language and Literature, Faculty of Literature and Humanities,. University of Semnan, Semnan, Iran.

10.22091/npa.2026.14841.1049

Abstract

Gender, as one of the most fundamental mechanisms of social organization, has always occupied a central place in human societies and has served as the primary basis for numerous inequalities and identity conflicts. Literature, particularly in the past century, has provided a crucial arena for reflecting upon and critiquing these inequalities and the identity crises experienced by women. The emergence of women both as authors and as central protagonists in narratives not only signals profound social and cultural transformations in the status of women, but also opens up possibilities for a psychological exploration of the deeper layers of feminine identity.  The novel *Kawabis Beirut* (Beirut Nightmares) by Ghada al-Samman presents a deeply gender-conscious narrative of a woman who, amid the Lebanese Civil War and simultaneously under the oppressive weight of a traditional, patriarchal family and society, grapples with a severe crisis of feminine identity.  Drawing on Karen Horney’s psychoanalytic theory—particularly the concepts of basic anxiety, the idealized self-image, flight from womanhood, and the neurotic solutions of moving toward (compliance/need for affection), moving against (power-seeking/aggression), and moving away from people (withdrawal/isolation)—this study employs a descriptive-analytical approach to uncover the characteristics of feminine identity in *Beirut Nightmares* through the lens of Horney’s framework. The findings reveal that feminine identity in the novel is predominantly a social-cultural construct shaped by patriarchal standards. Any deviation from these standards rapidly triggers an identity crisis, feelings of inferiority, social exclusion, and labeling as “madness or psychological abnormality. As a result of these issues, although the narrator shows faint signs of people-pleasing, they retreat into isolation to protect themselves from the harm caused by others and develop a withdrawn personality type. The narrator tries to free themselves from the constraints of traditional beliefs, but with each attempt, they face even greater failure and retreat further into their isolation. What the novel Quabes Beirut depicts from the perspective of female identity is not an individual and accidental crisis, but the historical defeat of femininity against inflexible and rigid gender structures in modernized traditional societies.
 

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References

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History

  • Receive Date: 12 December 2025
  • Revise Date: 02 February 2026
  • Accept Date: 16 March 2026
  • First Publish Date: 21 March 2026
  • Publish Date: 21 March 2026

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