From the Image of Woman to Her Voice: A Structural Analysis of Feminist Discourse in Basim Khandaqji's A Mask the Color of the Sky

Abstract

This study examines the manifestations of feminist discourse in A Mask the Color of the Sky, a novel by the imprisoned Palestinian novelist Basim Khandaqji. It explores the structural and ontological transformation of women from stereotypical representations confined within the collective consciousness into active voices that drive the historical and national narratives. The study employs the genetic structuralist approach, drawing on the analytical frameworks of semiotics and feminist literary criticism to examine the relationship between the female characters (Maram, Mary Magdalene, Nora, and Hajjah Fatimah) and the protagonist Noor’s quest for identity behind the Mask of Ur.