Hudda Fayyaz

Roll no: 27

Semester:01

M. Phil

Session: 2021-2023

Course: women’s writing

Course instructor: Ms. Qamar khushi

Topic: symbolism in Women at point zero

Symbolism in woman at point zero

1. Money
2. Books
3. Eyes
4. Clitoris
5. Secondary school certificate

 Money
Money represents control, as it allows a person to have agency over their
circumstances, their body, and their life. However, Firdaus ultimately comes to
realize that money represents men’s control over women, as it allows them to buy
access to women’s bodies and to keep women more easily controlled and socially
dependent on them. Firdaus never has access to money—nor is she even allowed to
be around it—for the first two decades of her life, since the people who want to
control Firdaus understand that with money would facilitate her independence. The
first time that a man pays Firdaus and she holds money in her hand, she realizes that
she can go anywhere, eat anything, and make her own choices in life—money allows
her more control and agency than she’s ever had before. However, after Firdaus
kills Marzouk, lets go of fear, and decides that she will act against men when they
oppress her, the Arab prince still buys her by paying a massive amount of money.
Firdaus realizes that money ultimately belongs to men in a male-dominated world,
and they use it to buy women’s bodies. Firdaus takes the 3,000 pounds that the
prince pays her and tears it to pieces in front of him, feeling as though she is tearing
apart every single man she has ever known in her life, each of whom used money to
control her.
 Books
Firdaus’s uncle gives Firdaus her first taste of the power of books when he secretly
teaches her how to read. Books become a symbol of the kindness of her uncle, who
takes an interest in young Firdaus and tries to teach her. Through reading, Firdaus
comes to realize that there is more in the world than her poor village and humble
family. Even before her uncle teaches her to read, she views the books he brings
with him from Cairo as a kind of passport to a life in which she, too, could be a
scholar. When she moves to Cairo and goes to school, Firdaus spends the few happy
years of her life immersed in books and learning. The time that they spend reading
together is a time of bonding between Firdaus and her uncle.

When her uncle gives up the life of a scholar and marries his boss’s daughter, he
sends Firdaus to boarding school. Essentially, her uncle gives up books in exchange
for wealth and status. This feels like a betrayal to Firdaus, but boarding school
proves more advantageous for her than living with her uncle and aunt. She soon
develops a reputation as a bookworm, and often spends long evenings in the library.
She becomes an excellent student and wins many academic prizes. Books become
more important to Firdaus than people. Yet when Firdaus is married off to Sheikh
Mahmoud, books virtually disappear from her life. Firdaus has to fit herself into the
role of submissive wife, and there is no room for her to be a prize pupil or a reader.
Books, which represented her uncle’s kindness and the potential for a better life,
disappear.
 Eyes

In Firdaus’s narration, a person’s eyes reflect her perception of them and the way
she judges their character. Although Firdaus barely remembers her mother, Firdaus
does recall that her eyes looked like two rings of bright white surrounding two circles
of deep black, and the white glows as if light flows through them from some magical
place. The flowing light suggests that Firdaus remembers her mother as a life-giving
source of comfort. This description is repeated almost verbatim for both Miss
Iqbal and Ibrahim’s eyes (before Ibrahim betrays Firdaus), suggesting that Firdaus
sees these individuals similarly, as people whom she loves that give life rather than
take it. Contrarily, when Bayoumi starts to beat Firdaus, his once-kind eyes reveal
themselves to be “jet black,” suggesting that they have no light and that he is not a
source of compassion as Firdaus once believed. Similarly, Firdaus’s stepmother’s eyes
are dull and unreflective, suggesting that although she is not cruel, she is unfeeling
and does not bring life, hope, or love to Firdaus’s world.

 The Clitoris
In the modern day, the clitoris represents female sexual freedom, independence,
and pleasure. In some countries, the removal of the clitoris is practiced as a way to
limit and control female sexuality. The clitoris is an unnamed but very present
symbol in Saadawi’s novel. Firdaus’s mother has her daughter’s clitoris removed
after Firdaus asks about her birth father. For the remainder of the novel, this missing
piece haunts Firdaus.In this way, Firdaus’s missing clitoris symbolizes all the attempts
people have made to control her, along with the stunting of her sexual freedom.

 Secondary School Certificate

Despite being born into a lower class farming community and having little to no
education as a young girl, Firdaus excels in school. Not only does she earn her
secondary school certificate, but she also graduated second in her class and seventh
in the country. Thus, the certificate is a symbol of achievement, evidence of her
intellect, and a source of pride for Firdaus. Later on, when she returns to her uncle’s
house and when she lives with Bayoumi, she suggests to the men using her
certificate to find work, but they scoff at her. They claim it will be impossible for
Firdaus to find a respectable job with only a secondary school certificate, and that
she needs to remain dependent on them for her livelihood. At this point, the
certificate symbolizes Firdaus’s baffled hopes and dreams for her future.