Literary

Criticism
of Alifa
Rifaat
B Y: J E S S E S I N G L E TA R Y
Who was Alifa Rifaat?
Alifa Rifaat is a renowned, yet
controversial Egyptian writer. She was
born in June, 1930, and passed in
January of 1996. She wrote about the
hardships of living under a patriarchy.
In this class, we read “Another evening
at the club”, which is a perfect
example of her stance on the
patriarchy.
What was her real identity?
Alifa was her pen name, as it was very
rare for women to write during this
time period. It also protected her from
scrutiny, her real name was Fatimah
rifaat. She studied English at the
British Institute in Cairo, and wanted
to continue her education- however
she was unable to follow he dreams
Analysis of her literary career
Rifaat was known as one of the
biggest Muslim feminists of the mid
1900s, so her work was quite
commonly criticized. There were
writers that did not support her work
who showed disdain towards her
work
How did her literary patterns
mirror her life?
If we look at “Another evening at the club”, obedience by the wife is a
prevalent theme. In the story, the wife loses her jewelry, and falsely accuses a
maid of stealing it- the husband has her sent to jail. Later, the wife find the
earing and apologizes, asking her husband to clear the name of the maid she
accused- however he refused. He would rather let the maid be beaten than
admit he (his family) was wrong. The wife is forced to accept this, despite her
own feelings. This mirrors her life because she was forced into a marriage she
didn’t want and had to accept it.
Her biggest critique
Rifaat’s biggest critique came
from a work titled, “Feminism and
Religion in Alifa Rifaat’s Short
Stories”, written by Ramzi M. Salti
What does Salti say about Rifaat?
.Salti goes into detail about how Rifaat has recurring themes throughout her
career. One of the biggest recurring themes noticed by Salti is that “Rifaat
here seems to be completely disillusioned with the whole idea of romance
and happy endings.” she shows that throughout all of her work, she never
romanticized relationships, they are always seen as dominated by the male
and unwanted by the female.
Works Cited
“Rifaat, Alifa.” Historical Dictionary of Women in the Middle East and North Africa 2013: 277–277.
Print.
Nkealah, Naomi. “Reconciling Arabo-Islamic Culture and Feminist Consciousness in North African
Women’s Writing: Silence and Voice in the Short Stories of Alifa Rifaat and Assia Djebar.” Tydskrif vir
letterkunde 45.1 (2008): 19–41. Web.
•"Fatimah Rifat." Crosshatching in Global Culture; A Dictionary of Modern Arab Writers: An Updated
English Version of R.B. Campbelll's "Contemporary Arab Writers." Ed. John J Donohue and Leslie
Tramontini. Vol. II. Lebanon: Orient-Institut, 2004. Print. 2 vols.

Salti, R. M. (1991). Feminism and religion in Alifa Rifaat's short stories. International Fiction
Review.