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A review by jimmylorunning
Women Without Men: A Novel of Modern Iran by Shahrnush Parsipur
3.0
I read a review that claimed that this is not a feminist novel. If it were a feminist novel, the characters would not rely on men, they would assert themselves powerfully at all times, and their lives would be better for it.
Umm, newsflash. A novel can be feminist without all its characters being feminists, strong women, and perfect all the time. That would be unrealistic and boring. Let's first understand that feminism is realism, i.e. realistic portrayal of women, including women who are not feminists, including women who are anti-feminists. And these are realistic women, despite the amount of magical realism, surrealism, and straight-up fantasy that also creeps in. In fact, it's the grim reality of their situation that makes these flights of fancy so powerful.
This patriarchal system is all there is for the Iranian women in this novel, it is all they've ever known. For them to become full fledged feminists as we know it in the west would be unrealistic. But to see them oppressing each other, keeping each other in check, this was heartbreaking. You get a sense of the true ubiquity of this system. Simply having one's own will, being able to dream, to want something for oneself however tiny, say to turn into a tree, or to move away and start a community becomes a courageously feminist act.
I did not love everything about this novel, the writing was uneven, and some of the fantasy elements seemed a bit too random for me... but I thought it was unique and interesting, and I definitely enjoyed reading it.
A comparison of translations:
Translation by Kamran Talattof and Jocelyn Sharlet:
This translation was strangely veiled, like it was trying not to say things straight out. This made it much harder to understand. The rhythm of the sentences was shorter than the other translation. No footnotes. Introduction by Kamran Talatof: one of the most rubbish introductions to a book I've ever read. Including synopsis of entire plot. It reads like a high school book report plagiarised from wikipedia, including some details of the author's life and works, some very obvious interpretations of this book.
Excerpt:
This translation was more straight forward. There were footnotes. Foreword by the filmmaker Shirin Neshat. Afterword by the author explaining where she got inspiration for each one of the characters.
Excerpt:
Umm, newsflash. A novel can be feminist without all its characters being feminists, strong women, and perfect all the time. That would be unrealistic and boring. Let's first understand that feminism is realism, i.e. realistic portrayal of women, including women who are not feminists, including women who are anti-feminists. And these are realistic women, despite the amount of magical realism, surrealism, and straight-up fantasy that also creeps in. In fact, it's the grim reality of their situation that makes these flights of fancy so powerful.
This patriarchal system is all there is for the Iranian women in this novel, it is all they've ever known. For them to become full fledged feminists as we know it in the west would be unrealistic. But to see them oppressing each other, keeping each other in check, this was heartbreaking. You get a sense of the true ubiquity of this system. Simply having one's own will, being able to dream, to want something for oneself however tiny, say to turn into a tree, or to move away and start a community becomes a courageously feminist act.
I did not love everything about this novel, the writing was uneven, and some of the fantasy elements seemed a bit too random for me... but I thought it was unique and interesting, and I definitely enjoyed reading it.
A comparison of translations:
Translation by Kamran Talattof and Jocelyn Sharlet:
This translation was strangely veiled, like it was trying not to say things straight out. This made it much harder to understand. The rhythm of the sentences was shorter than the other translation. No footnotes. Introduction by Kamran Talatof: one of the most rubbish introductions to a book I've ever read. Including synopsis of entire plot. It reads like a high school book report plagiarised from wikipedia, including some details of the author's life and works, some very obvious interpretations of this book.
Excerpt:
Mahdokht's heart stopped. The girl, Fatemeh, at fifteen like a worldly woman, was at hte end of the greenhouse with Yadallah, the gardener. With his bald head and oozing eyes, it was difficult to look at him.Translation by Faridoun Farrokh:
The world around her went dark, and her legs began to tremble. She involuntarily clutched the edge of a table. But she could not take her eyes off them. She looked and looked until they saw her. The guy had begun to whimper. He wanted to escape but he couldn't He was mindlessly beating the girl. The girl extended her hand toward Mahdokht. Mahdokht ran out of the greenhouse. She didn't know what to do. She headed for the pool in a daze, and wanted to throw up. She washed her hands and sat on the bench.
"What can I do?"
This translation was more straight forward. There were footnotes. Foreword by the filmmaker Shirin Neshat. Afterword by the author explaining where she got inspiration for each one of the characters.
Excerpt:
Her heart missed a beat. The servant girl, Fati, fifteen years old, but more resembling a streetwalker, lay at the far end of the greenhouse with Yadollah, the gardener, with a bald head and repulsive, red-rimmed eyes, panting, panting, panting.
Mahdokht, near collapse and reaching for a shelf to steady herself, could not take her eyes off the scene. The man was the first to notice her. He let out a squeal and tried to disentangle himself from the embrace of the girl by hitting her in the face with one hand and reaching with the other for Mahdokht, who rushed out of the greenhouse and wandered aimlessly in the courtyard, fraught with nausea. She hurried to the pool, dipped her hands in the water, washing them compulsively. She then sat on the edge of the bedstead.
"What shall I do?"