Assignment #5

Comparing Brooks & an essay by Ashraf Zahedi regarding the "Contested Meaning of the veil and political ideologies of Iranian regimes".

In Geraldine Brook's book, 9 Parts of Desire, the author becomes engrossed in the status and rights of Middle Eastern women. When I ran across Zahedi's essay, it seemed the two would tie in nicely together. After all, Brooks starts her narrative off by introducing Khomeini, a prominent figure in the Iranian revolution of 1979, who in her opinion was responsible for persuading "women that wearing of a medival cloak was a revolutionary act". (Brooks, p. 16) Strangely, Zahedi doesn't mention Khomeini once.

However, the Revolution does get its own little section in in Zahedi's essay. The credit - or blame - for what happens during this timeframe is laid at the regime's feet, which found support in both the clerical and secular camps. "Conservative clerics had a vast network of mosques through which they were able to propagate the importantce of traditional roles for women. Secularists supporting women's causes glorified the revolution as the ultimate means of advancing women's rights." (p. 8)

Of course, one of the main points of contention revolved around the veil. Zahedi does a nice job of giving a brief but well-told history of the veil and how it developed into its modern symbolism. Unlike the very disjointed and almost incomprehensible presentation Brooks gives on the subject, Zahedi's essay is easy to read and very informative. Perhaps narrowing the focus to one nation makes all the difference.

One of the more interesting things Zahedi mentions regarding the revolution is that the "women who had symbolically taken up the chador to support vieled women and the revolution came to the realization that they had no control over the meaning of the symbol and its instutionalization" (p.8) After reading that statement and taking a moment to reconsider Brooks' book, I can see this echoed in 9 Parts of Desire.

Brooks does provide examples of both the veiled and unveiled Muslim woman. While her own prejudices are unavoidable, she does try to present the two sides of this emotionally charged topic.

In many ways I much prefer the straightforwardness and matter-of-fact presentation of Zahedi's essay to Brook's wandering style. I didn't have to continually try to figure out where the author had relocated to or what point she was trying to make. Zahedi's essay is structured and easy to follow. There's no guess work involved.

While Brooks' book contains some of the same historical data, I don't know I could have pulled it out in a cohesive manner. However, to her benefit, her book offered a more personable approach. Whereas Khomeini is lumped - name unmentioned - into the regime Zahedi focuses on, Brooks is able to give the reader some insight into the man behind the revolution. She allows his family to speak of him as a man, a father, and even a grandfather. He is given a personality and some depth.

I think this is one of the main differences between travel writing and essays: the personal element. Essays like Zahedi's tend to be very academic in flavor, whereas travel writings allow for more introspection, subjectivism, and real life experience. So while I would prefer to read Zahedi's if I'm looking for a concrete, cohesive history lesson, I'd rather read Brooks' book to catch a glimpse of what's behind the facts.

Article Source: Zahedi, Ashraf. "Contested meaning of the veil and political ideologies of Iranian regimes.(Essay)." JMEWS: Journal of Middle East Women's Studies 3.3 (Fall 2007): 75(24). Academic OneFile. Gale. University of Michigan Flint. 15 Nov. 2007 . .

A Matter of Gender

For this assignment we were asked to compare the men and women travel writers. The first thing that comes to mind for me is that the men tend to focus more on the religion than the women. Not to say the women don't explore the religion or attempt to learn more about it, but it seems to me that the focus is different. It could be my imagination but it seems the women are a bit more open to different ideologies and less critical of Islam and Muslims in general.

Even in those instances where the male author proclaims a desire to leave behind his prejudices and open himself up to the experiences and ideas he might find abroad, it generally didn't take very long for male writer to turn critical. The only exception to this that I can think of off the top of my head would be Dallam. He seemed to be the only one who simply related his experience and left out any judgements he may have made during his time in Constantinople.

Another difference, with perhaps the exception of Gertrude Bell and Geraldine Brooks, is that the men's writings tend to have a lot more history incorporated into them. I don't remember Duff-Gordon or Montagu providing any kind of history lesson. They tended to focus a bit more on the here and now.

Of course, the most obvious difference between the genders is in relation to gender, although again I must clarify that there are exceptions even here. While most of the women writers tend to reveal or de-mystify Muslim women and the men tend to make gross assumptions, not every woman writer focused on the issue of women. In fact, I'd say two of the four that we've studied have opted to focus more on either day-to-day living or remained firmly rooted in the world of men. Geraldine Bell was at home among the men, something rather unusual considering all the gender rules found in Muslim society. Lucy Duff-Gordon focused more on her male associates than the women, mentioning them only in passing.

However, when the women chose to focus on the women - something the men really could not ever hope to do in the same manner - they really did provide an alternative view of the harem and the women who lived there. They provide a window into a world were society would never allow the male traveller to enter.

In many ways, though, I think the writers shared a great deal in common regardless of their gender. Each reported their experiences, opinions, and observations. They gave us a chance to look into a time and place otherwise unavailable to us. They touch on common subjects like culture and religion. The differences come in the lens through which they view these things.

Letter XXXIX to Anne Thistlethwayte

Lady Montagu had many interesting letters to choose from for this particular assignment, which made my selection feel rather arbitrary. As I flipped through the correspondence I noticed one with a lot of highlighting and notes in the margin. Apparently I found a lot of things very interesting in this particular letter, so it seems logical to discuss it.

One of the first things I noticed about this particular letter was the grateful tone of Lady Montagu's opening. It definitely leaves the reader with the impression that she was perhaps a bit desperate for news of home. Considering the length of time she has been away from England, this makes perfect sense, as does her consternation with her other correspondents for not thinking she would appreciate a little dated gossip.

If these letters were constructed after the fact, this is one of the elements that makes them so engaging. Her tone conveys a frustration I find very real and very believable.

As the letter progresses she indulges in a bit of cultural gossip herself. Considering she admits she's pregnant, the content of her letter flows naturally. It is in this passage where she discusses marriage and children that she perhaps shows her first true distaste for something within the Turkish culture. This sentence may explain her viewpoint on the matter: "You won't know what to make of this speech, but in this country it is more despicable to be married and not fruitful than it is with us to be fruitful before marriage." (p. 107).

Then you read this line: "..they do not content themselves with using the natural means, but fly to all sort of quackeries to avoid the scandal of being past child bearing and often kill themselves by them." (p. 107) Is that actually censure I hear? It certainly sounds like it. If remember correctly she bring up this bizarre gender-based cultural expectation more than once and more than in one letter.

What makes this letter interesting to me isn't just the fact that she finally shows the less than ideal state of Turkish women, but that she realizes it and tries to redeem the culture and perhaps the perception of her reader by adding a last paragraph about things she does like, like the punishment of convicted liars whom she refers to as "triumphant criminals in our country, God knows." (p. 108)

I think this goes back to Ryan's earlier statement about her desire to create an idealized society for herself where she can pick and choose different laws and customs from her experiences. I also believe the later letters in this series supports that argument even further.

Said's Theory on Orientalism & the Writings of Thomas Dallam

First, I had to refresh myself on what exactly was Said's theory on Orientalism. If I understand it correctly, Said's theory is that Western writers have misrepresented the Middle East and created a romanticized idea of "the Orient", which completely dismisses the variety of lifestyles, customs and beliefs found throughout this vast territory.

At first I must admit I'm wasn't sure how a theory about scholarly work could be applied to travel writing, especially if you consider the writings to be autobiographical in nature and not scholarly. However, after a little reflection, I could see his point to a certain extent. If I think of writer's like Biddulph, I can see how his prejudices would support Said's theory.

However, there are other instances where I would completely disagree. Consider Thomas Dallam. His writing did not portray a backward, wicked society. He did not set out to belittle the Sultan or the other Muslims. His diary excerpts were very accepting of the culture he found hismelf in. His portrayal of the Muslims he came into contact with are very flattering, actually. He made sure to mention that he was treated with courtsey and kindness at every turn.

Of course, Dallam wasn't in the Sultan's court pursuing religious ends or enduring the hardships of slavery. He was treated to a very privledged view of the Ottoman Empire. He was, in fact, an honored guest. Although he lacked any formal title or diplomatic immunity, he had been sent with a miraculous gift for the Sultan from Queen Elizabeth.

Not to mention he was also a much sought after commodity: a skilled trademan.

I would have to argue that Said's Orientalism may hold some kernal of truth in it, but it is not a hard and fast rule you can blindly apply to every Western writer discussing the Middle East. I think its a dangerous generalization that could be inappropriately applied.

Travel Plans

I wish I were making travel plans that include airplane tickets and a hotel. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be leaving Michigan any time in the near future. Between work, family obligations, and school, who has the time to go travelling? Not me.

Lack of funds might also have something to do with it, too, but that's a completely different discussion.

In all honesty, most of my travelling is done through reading. Although I'm not an English major (I know! The surprise!), I am an avid reader. I have visited many wondrous and fantastic places without needing a passport or a series of shots to stave off things like malaria and dysentery. From the safety of my home I can set sail on a ship bound for the Cayman Islands, or I can walk onto a train platform and buy that ticket to Chicago. A little suspension of reality and disbelief can take me even further. I can jump between solar systems or visit a magical world where dragons fly and unicorns step through dense forests.

Fiction has been my escape for more years than I care to admit. It became so much a part of me that I soon found myself creating my own little imaginary worlds and populating it with people I loved and despised.

As I've matured both in reality and in terms of my writing, I've discovered that my imagination needs to be fed. I'm not talking about inspiration. This is not about those instances when an overheard phrase or partial conversation can trigger an entire scene or provide the theme for your next big project. The kind of nourishment I'm referring to is found in the very real world in which we live. It's experience. It's tangible.

I signed up for this class because, to borrow a cliché, I knew it would broaden my horizons. I don’t expect to visit the Middle East any time in the near future. Heck, I don’t even know if I’ll be visiting it the distant future. Of all the places I want to go, the “Middle East” as I think of it, doesn’t make the list. I think one of the main reasons would have to be because of the constant threat of danger that seems to linger there. I’m all for travelling, but only if my safety is pretty much a given.

So while I may never walk in Mecca, Medina, or Jerusalem, I can visit these places the only way I know how: the Internet. I’m kidding! Sort of. The truth is the Internet is a great resource for researching almost anything. Yet, it doesn’t always turn up the results you most desire. Searches can be thwarted by pages and pages of nonsense, misrepresentation, or untruths.

I think this is one of the reasons why I thought travel writing would be great. First-hand accounts may carry misrepresentations, untruths, and nonsense, but unless the narrator is a complete fraud, the information contained in their stories is real. Their observations may be skewed by any number of things (education, religion, exposure, biases, prejudices..) but these writings aren’t fictional. They are someone’s truth. They are someone’s insights and explanations.

I will never be able to experience 16th or 17th century life in Algeria or Turkey. I can’t climb into a time machine and set the dial to whatever year suits my fancy, but I can read an accounting of what life was like for this man or that woman. I can look through their eyes and see a world so unlike my own.

Already I've collected quite a variety of images. Here are some of my favorites:

From Joseph Pitts I discovered the mateeja. This plain is transformed into a marketplace several times a week. I imagine the makeshift markets between the farmhouses. I don't know exactly what this would look like or smell like or sound like, but I have an image.

Later in his work he describes a military encampment where "the bey's tent is pitched in the middle of the camp, and all the tents are pitched so close together that an horse cannot pass, and this is so ordered that there may be but one entrance into the camp, which is directly toward the door of the bey's tent". (p. 237) Can you see that? What it must look like? Now try to imagine the sound of soldiers going about their business, of talk and prayer drifting through the night air. It seems a strange custom, dangerous even, but yet it must have worked. Figuring out why is the challenge.

Even their most common punishment is fascinatingly bizarre. I can't imagine being beaten on the soles of your feet. Ouch!

Even Biddulph, that holier-than-thou preacher, managed to incorporate some interesting comments on the culture of the area he visited. There's a paragraph were he discusses the marriage practices of the Sultan's sisters. Even if this is complete bunk, which it probably is considering the source, I still found it interesting. Apparently these women are told " 'Daughter, or sister, I give thee this man to be they slave and bedfellow; and if he is not loving, dutiful, and obedient unto thee, here I give thee a canzhare (that is, a dagger) to cut off his head.' And always after, those daughter or sisters of the king wear a broad and sharp dagger." (p. 95) How funny!

So in answer to the question, what are my travel plans this semester? I’m going to keep reading. I’m going to visit the times and places our narrators take us and I’m going to try to make the most of it. I’m going to keep notes on interesting cultural differences and customs. I’m going to try to read between the lines and figure out the character behind the byline. In short, I’m going to feed my muse.

Any maybe learn a little something along the way!