The Representation of Women Subordination in Nawal El Saadawi's Woman at Point Zero

Abstract

This research tries to uncover the issue of women’s subordination in Nawal El Saadawi’s Woman at Point Zero. This story represents the subordination of women to the main character. The theory of representation by Stuart Hall (1997) and the discursive approach by Michel Foucault are used as the main theory to find the discourse of women’s subordination in the novel. Women’s subordination process throughout the novel is divided into three categories. Two kinds of data are used in this research. The first one is the primary data which are taken from the dialogues and narratives in Woman at Point Zero. Then, the secondary data are the data that are taken from books, journals, web, interviews, and other sources that are related to the topic of this research. In the analysis process, first, I do the textual analysis. The theory of representation by Stuart Hall and the discursive approach by Michel Foucault are used to find the discourse of women’s subordination in the novel. The form of subordination is divided into three categories which is proposed by Sultana in her article. In doing textual analysis, I connect those three categories of subordination with the contextual background of the story. The analysis of contextual background is also aimed to uncover the critical positions of the author whether the author supports or resists the issue of women’s subordination. This research shows that the subordination of women subjects is represented in Woman at Point Zero. The patriarchal society of Egypt in the 1980s as the background causes the subordination of women subjects to appear in the novel. In the 1980’s era, women are put in the second class. Thus, they get subordinated, violated, exploited, and being powerless. Through the resistance of Firdaus, Nawal El Saadawi has shown her point of view on the issue of women’s subordination. In conclusion, she stands for gender equality.