Republic of the Philippines

Tarlac State University

COLLEGE OF TEACHER EDUCATION
CENTER OF DEVELOPMENT
Villa Lucinda Campus, Tarlac City

PRINCESS: A TRUE STORY OF LIFE BEHIND THE VEIL IN SAUDI ARABIA

by JEAN SASSON

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A Literary Analysis
Presented to
Ms. Sheila Marie O. David

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In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for

Survey of Afro-Asian Literature
(EL 112)

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By
Taan, Mckennedy F.
BSED English 2C

March 19, 2021

 Islamic Feminist Movement: A Literary Analysis on
Princess: A True Story of Life behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia by Jean Sasson

Is it the religion who dictates the inequality between women and men, or the
misinterpretation and atrocities of the latter? The cry of the feminist bird jailed on the cage of
masculine-driven country in the kingdom dominated by men in the Arabian Peninsula is what
Jean Sasson depicts in her novel entitled Princess: A True Story of Life behind the Veil in Saudi
Arabia. The author revealed, with the help of the character named Sultana, the situation of the
woman in the patriarchal country where they are seen as living flesh created to satisfy sexual
desires, a child-bearer capable of enduring whatever abuse like rape, physical violence,
inequality, spiritual and cultural insults at the hand of men whose masculinity radiates evilness
and domination. The readers are able to get some glimpse to the life of Saudi Arabian woman
whose voices are unheard and whose rights are disregarded. Furthermore, the novel enlightened
the mind of the readers about the masculine-dominated society that woman in veil, in the
character of Sultana, needed to endure in their everyday life.

Jean Sasson is feminist writer who just not focus on the situation of Saudi Arabian
women, rather she makes sure that the situation of women from different side of the word will be
exposed for those cares and for those who remained “blind and deaf”. Woman of Algeria,
Bahrain, Egypt, Gaza, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, UAE, Yemen and Saudi Arabia
who remained victimized by inequality, injustices and cruelty were shown at the first part of the
novel. The men who supposed to protect the women through their masculinity do the otherwise
that still rampant and became part of the woman’s life, according to Sasson. These woman still
hope that someday, the world perspective especially man’s perspective about woman will change
and they will get the freedom and equality they are longing. The author make sure that the reader
will have a prior knowledge first about what they will discover when they started reading the
actual piece.

Injected in the non-fiction biographical trilogy written by Jean Sasson narrated in first
person point of view, the oppression caused by men, who used as an excuse the word of Prophet
Muhammed in the Koran, to woman who became sick in the inequality they are experiencing.
Just like Hadi, an aspiring mutawa, told to Ali that “woman were the cause of all evil on earth”
(Chapter Six: The Trip), the treatment of the dominant gender never changes from generation to
generation. Also, it is evident in how Mutawa or religious individual treat woman and even
influences other men to do the same. Through the character of Princess Sultana, we’re able to
have a first person angle on the life of a royal princess, who became the epitome of the inferior
gender in Saudi Arabia and the world that constantly yearn for equality and empowerment
against the exploits of the patriarchal society like enslavement, sexual assault, force marriage,
and unequal access to education.

Moreover, through the information given to Jean Sasson by the Saudi Arabian princess
whose identity were hidden in the name Sultana, the author is able to deliver the message of the
novel through the different characters present in the masterpiece. The following characters give
justice to the different events and act as a symbolism on different aspects of a human, of a Saudi
Arabian family and society, and through these different characters the novel became an excellent
feminist novel in the world.

 Sultana- she is the tenth daughter out of eleven children of the prince who is a member of
royal family Al Saud. We can see the growth of this main character throughout the novel
that first-handedly experiences the nightmares of woman in her family and in her society.
Sultana is an independent woman who became the epitome of braveness and boldness
who believes that woman will stand at the same level of man.
 Ali- he is the only son in the family that’s why he is the favorite child. He is spoiled and
he can easily get what he wants especially to his father because male child are valued
more than the female child. He is the epitome of oppression and inequality.
 Sara- she is the silent and bright sister of Sultan. She is a caring and loving sister who
also wishes for woman empowerment and equality, just like Sultana. She became
rebellious at the latter part of the novel due to different bad experiences she experienced
at the hands of her husband who divorced her. She is the epitome of enduring women
who’ll start to fight.
 Fadeela- she is the loving, caring, supportive and kind mother of Sultana who equally
treats her child. She is the opposite figure of her husband and Noorah, mother of Kareem.
She is the epitome of an ideal mother.
 Father- a tyrannical and strict father of Sultana. He has a negative perspective on woman
especially on his daughters, but he practice favoritism which is shown on how he treats
Ali. He is also the epitome of oppression and inequality.
 Nura and Ahmed- the couple in Sultana’s family. Nura is the sister of Sultana who posed
as the role model by her father because she has a successful marriage with Ahmed as his
husband. She is the epitome of favored woman based on marriage.
 Kareem- he is the loving, caring husband of Sultana and a hand on dad to his child. He
somehow listened to her mother’s advice and he also want to have many child that’s why
he asked Sultana if he can have a second wife. He is the epitome of a good man.
 Asad- he is the brother of Kareem who’s a playboy at beginning but changed his attitude
when he married Sara. He is the evidence that man can change their bad sides.
 Hadi and Mutawas- they are the religious figures in the store who embodied the words of
Prophet Mohammed in Koran. They are also the authoritative figures who heavily
oppressed the woman and use the Koran as an excuse. However, Hadi is Ali’s friend who
hates women but at the same time desire them for sexual satisfaction. They are the
epitome of abusive authorities.
 Randa- she is the childhood playmate of Sultana and eventually became the wife of
Sultana’s father after Fadeela died. She is the silent type of girl who is timid. She is the
 epitome of a woman whose time is allotted for her husband. She is also the epitome of
submissive nature of woman.
 Omar- he is the family driver of the Al Saud family, particularly Sultana’s family. He is
being influenced by the authoritativeness of the Saudi Arabian man wherein sometimes
he shows superiority to the daughter of the prince.
 Marci and Madeline- these two Filipinos are included in the novel. The first one is the
supportive maid of Sultana’s family who dreamed of becoming a nurse, while the latter is
a Filipina being abused by her employer. These two Filipina’s shows the situation of
OFW especially the domestic helpers and caregivers: one will be lucky while the other
one will face nightmare at the hands of their respective employers.
 Nadia and Wafa- these two Saudi Arabian women are the girlfriends of Sultana. The first
one came from a rich family, while the latter came from religious family. These
characters are the symbolism of recklessness, wildness and carelessness shown through
their actions.
 King Faisal and Iffat- these couple is considered as the key to a big step for woman that
will boost the hope of the feminist side of Saudi Arabia for equality.

The novel is composed of 20 chapters and in these different chapters different ideas like
inequality, injustices, oppression, abuse and enlightenment are present, however, the main idea
of novel is the misinterpreted teachings rooted from Koran. Saudi Arabia is a Muslim country
who strongly believes to the teachings of Koran. Saudi Arabian adheres to these teachings to the
point that it became negative for woman in the society. We are able to get a glimpse of their
culture and tradition but the negative doings by the dominant figure and the worst situations
faced by woman in the Arabian Peninsula is highlighted in the novel. Evident in the line “the
male child is taught that women are of little value: They exist only for his comfort and
convenience”, woman became the prisoner not only in their families but also in their society, and
they are totally dominated even in practicing their religion.

However, these oppressions, injustices, cruelty and maltreatment experienced by woman

will be the key for them to change and be brave. These wrong doings will be the trigger for Saudi
Arabian woman to have a big step and be brave to express their unheard voices and petitions.
This is evident in Sultana’s case wherein at the latter part of the novel she became brave and bold
enough to fight the “social cancer”. She even dared to make an agreement to his husband,
Kareem, and stopped him from marrying his second wife. Furthermore, Sultana also formed a
club named “Lively Lips” whose goals are to fight for the roles and spirit of woman and force
men to change and promote social change.

Jean Sasson’s Princess tackled the oppression and gender discrimination but the overall
theme of the novel is feminism. Using the different information given to the author by the royal
princess, the women’s voice who shouts and call for woman empowerment became loud. The
novel reflects not just the nightmares of the woman in the Saudi Arabia and the world but also
the fact that the woman of this world will not stop to radiate and voice out their situation and
their constant call for the rights and privileges they deserve. The novel became the avenue for the
woman whose characteristics are like that of Sultana, who uses her voice to fight. The battlefield
where feminism pursues the rights of those oppressed woman will be a peaceful stage for them to
show what they’re capable of doing for the world.

One of the distinct characteristic of the novel written by Jean Sasson is the different
literary devices inserted in this feminist masterpiece and the most observable among those
devices is flashback. It is evident on different stories of different woman presented on the story
just like when the maid, Marci, tell the story of Madeline to Sultana. Another is when Fadeela
told her three vision she dreamed before the day of her death. The flashback of different stories
became the way for the readers to know why the characters act like that, what happened to the
other characters and the past events happened on the novel which became a significant part as it
brought significant effects on the flow of events. On the other hand, there are many symbols we
must take into consideration:

 Veil- it symbolizes the transition from childhood to womanhood wherein Saudi Arabian
women became marriageable. It also became the imprisonment for women because the
time they wear their veil their rights were also limited.
 Swimming Pool- others take this place for enjoyment but for Nadia it will be her last
place in their house because this is where she will be executed by her father.
 Friday- others take it as a good day because this is the last day of the weekdays where
workdays ended but for those who’s been judge to be executed on this day. This day is
the day for religion and the execution day for those “sinners” judge by their rules.
 Ghutra and Igaal- this serve as the symbolism of masculinity and glory of men because
this headdress and black cord is something to wear to boost their confidence unlike the
veil wore by woman.
 Al Saud- this royal family serves as the symbolism of Saudi Arabia, not because they are
the rulers of the peninsula but because the story revolves around the family of Sultana
which is a member of Al Saud lineage.
 Villa- this is the symbolism of Saudi Arabia because most of the exploitations happened
in their villa.
 Poverty- sometimes it serves as the trigger for someone to change their attitude and
behavior and some take poverty as positive. On the other hand, poverty also cause
someone to do something wrong just like the mother in Cairo who sell his daughter to Ali
and Hadi for sexual pleasures.
 Circumcision- symbolizes sexual pleasure. In Saudi Arabian culture, women are
circumcised to satisfy the men when they are having sexual intercourse.
 Vaginal Bleeding- it symbolizes purity. In their culture, woman who bleeds during sexual
intercourse is a jackpot for the man because it symbolizes purity and virginity.
  Removal of Hair- it symbolizes purity. Before the wedding day, women must shave her
pubis hair located on her underarms and private part for them to become clean.

Aside from the novel, Jean Sasson’s writing style is also notable. The novel is narrated in
first person point of view wherein readers will have an angle using the point of view of the main
character Sultana. Through this narration, the readers will easily feel what does Sultan feels and
the readers will easily understand why Saudi Arabian wanted to end the injustices and oppression
they experienced every day. Aside from this, the author also used flashback and she uses another
character’s story or the flashback as a smooth transition from one event to another. Further, the
sequence of events per chapter are contradictory, sometimes the chapter will show opposite
actions, cause and effect and, problem and solution sequence.

Princess by Jean Sasson is not just a way for the world to know the situation of the
woman in Saudi Arabia and the world, rather it serves as their avenue for the cry of these jailed
women to be heard and addressed. The women are the one who gives life on human race and
disregarding the privileges and rights they deserve implies that these oppressors also disregard
the value of life. Just like Sultana, every feminist literary piece and all the women will not stop to
call for equality and respect until the world become peaceful, not because the women are being
silenced but because they achieve the goals they are fighting for.