May Her Likes Be Multiplied : Biography and Gender Politics in Egypt

Marilyn Booth's elegantly conceived study reveals the Arabic tradition of life-writing in an entirely new light. Though biography had long been male-authored, in the late nineteenth century short sketches by and about women began to appear in biographical dictionaries and women's journals. By 1940, hundreds of such biographies had been published, featuring Arabs, Turks, Indians, Europeans, North Americans, and ancient Greeks and Persians. Booth uses over five hundred famous women biographies-which include subjects as diverse as Joan of Arc, Jane Austen, Aisha bt. Abi Bakr, Sarojini Naidu, and Lucy Stone-to demonstrate how these narratives prescribed complex role models for middle-class girls, in a context where nationalist programs and emerging feminisms made defining the ideal female citizen an urgent matter. Booth begins by asking how cultural traditions shaped women's biography, and to whom the Egyptian biographies were directed. The biographies were published at a time of great cultural awakening in Egypt, when social and political institutions were in upheaval. The stories suggested that Islam could be flexible on social practice and gender, holding out the possibility for women to make their own lives. Yet ultimately they indicate that women would find it extremely difficult to escape the nationalist ideal: the nuclear family with woman at its center. This conflict remains central to Egyptian politics today, and in her final chapter Booth examines Islamic biographies of women's lives that have been published in more recent years. Author Biography: Marilyn Booth is an independent scholar affiliated with the Program in Comparative Literature and the Centerfor African Studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She is the author of Bayram al-Tunisi's Egypt (1990) and translator of My Grandmother's Cactus: Stories by Egyptian Women (1991) and other Arabic fiction and memoirs. Marilyn Booth's elegantly conceived study reveals the Arabic tradition of life-writing in an entirely new light. Though biography had long been male-authored, in the late nineteenth century short sketches by and about women began to appear in biographical dictionaries and women's journals. By 1940, hundreds of such biographies had been published, featuring Arabs, Turks, Indians, Europeans, North Americans, and ancient Greeks and Persians. Booth uses over five hundred "famous women" biographies -- which include subjects as diverse as Joan of Arc, Jane Austen, Aisha bt. Abi Bakr, Sarojini Naidu, and Lucy Stone -- to demonstrate how these narratives prescribed complex role models for middle-class girls, in a context where nationalist programs and emerging feminisms made defining the ideal female citizen an urgent matter.Booth begins by asking how cultural traditions shaped women's biography, and to whom the Egyptian biographies were directed. The biographies were published at a time of great cultural awakening in Egypt, when social and political institutions were in upheaval. The stories suggested that Islam could be flexible on social practice and gender, holding out the possibility for women to make their own lives. Yet ultimately they indicate that women would find it extremely difficult to escape the nationalist ideal: the nuclear family with "woman" at its center. This conflict remains central to Egyptian politics today, and in her final chapter Booth examines Islamic biographies of women's lives that have been published in more recent years. This book reveals the Arabic tradition of life-writing in an entirely new light. Though biography had long been male authored, in the late nineteenth century, short sketches by and about women began to appear in biographical dictionaries and women's journals. By 1940, hundreds of such biographies had been published, featuring Arabs, Turks, Indians, Europeans, North Americans, and ancient Greeks and Persians. The book uses more than 500 “famous women” biographies—which include subjects as diverse as Joan of Arc, Jane Austen, Aisha bt. Abi Bakr, Sarojini Naidu, and Lucy Stone—to demonstrate how these narratives prescribed complex role models for middle-class girls, in a context where nationalist programs and emerging feminisms made defining the ideal female citizen an urgent matter. It begins by asking how cultural traditions shaped women's biography, and to whom the Egyptian biographies were directed. The biographies were published at a time of great cultural awakening in Egypt, when social and political institutions were in upheaval. The stories suggested that Islam could be flexible on social practice and gender, holding out the possibility for women to make their own lives. Yet ultimately they indicated that women would find it extremely difficult to escape the nationalist ideal: the nuclear family with “woman” at its center. This conflict remains central to Egyptian politics today, and in her final chapter the author examines Islamic biographies of women's lives that have been published in more recent years Frontmatter Acknowledgments (page ix) Technical Note (page xi) Prologue (page xiii) 1. SCATTERED PEARLS AND MISTRESSES OF SECLUSION: ZAYNAB FAWWAZ, ARABIC BIOGRAPHICAL WRITING, AND A CANON OF FEMALE VISIBILITY (page 1) 2. SITING BIOGRAPHY: A POLITICS OF ADDRESS (page 35) 3. EXEMPLAR AND EXCEPTION: BIOGRAPHY IN THE JOURNAL FOR WOMEN (page 62) 4. MAY OUR DAUGHTERS LISTEN: READERS, WRITERS, TEACHERS (page 109) 5. CATHERINE THE GREAT'S EMBROIDERY AND MARIA MITCHELL'S STEWPOTl DISCURSIVE DOMESTICITIES (page 171) 6. JEANNE D'ARC, EGYPTIAN NATIONALIST: COMMUNITY, IDENTITY, AND DIFFERENCE (page 233) 7. FROM SOBER TO SALICIOUS: WOMEN'S BIOGRAPHY AS SPECTACLE (page 270) 8. FAMOUS WOMBS AND WOMEN'S MEMORIES: GENDER, NATION, AND LIFE WRITING IN TODAY'S EGYPT (page 281) Notes (page 311) Selected Bibliography (page 427) Index (page 443) Scattered Pearls And Mistresses Of Seclusion: Zaynab Fawwāz, Arabic Biographical Writing, And A Canon Of Female Visibility -- Siting Biography: A Politics Of Address -- Exemplar And Exception: Biography In The Journal For Women -- May Our Daughters Listen: Readers, Writers, Teachers -- Catherine The Great's Embroidery And Maria Mitchell's Stewpot: Discursive Domesticities -- Jeanne D'arc, Egyptian Nationalist: Community, Identity, And Difference -- From Sober To Salacious: Women's Biography As Spectacle -- Famous Wombs And Women's Memories: Gender Nation And The Life Writing In Today's Egypt. Marilyn Booth. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 427-441) And Index. Machine generated contents note: Technical Note Prologue SCATTERED PEARLS AND MISTRESSES OF SECLUSION: ZAYNAB FAWWAZ, ARABIC BIOGRAPHICAL WRITING, AND A CANON OF FEMALE VISIBILITY SITING BIOGRAPHYT A POLITICS OF ADDRESS EXEMPLAR AND EXCEPTION: BIOGRAPHY IN THE JOURNAL FOR WOMEN MAY OUR DAUGHTERS LISTEN: READERS, WRITERS, TEACHERS CATHERINE THE GREAT'S EMBROIDERY AND MARIA MITCHELL'S STEWPOT: DISCURSIVE DOMESTICITIES JEANNE DARC, EGYPTIAN NATIONALIST: COMMUNITY, IDENTITY, AND DIFFERENCE FROM SOBER TO SALACIOUS: WOMEN'S BIOGRAPHY AS SPECTACLE FAMOUS WOMBS AND WOMEN S MEMORIES: GENDER, NATION, AND LIFE WRITING IN TODAY'S EGYPT Notes Selected Bibliography Index. This study explores the Arabic tradition of life-writing in Egypt. It examines biographical works by women and uses examples of "famous women" biographies - including Joan of Arc and Jane Austen - to demonstrate how these narratives prescribed complex role models for middle-class girls