Page 40 [40]
LITERARY CODE-SWITCHING
letter he intercepted only a few days before his arrival by setting an ultimatum:
either Midhat marries, or he is disinherited."
However, the rich points, in the form of the repeated relexified expression,
also function on a deeper level of the literary text as they punctuate marriage
as a recurring theme which allows the author to give a gendered comment that
toys with the ethnographic genre. Contrary to prejudiced expectations, Mid¬
hat’s case clearly demonstrates that men, even if they have more freedom of
action, can suffer as much as women under patriarchal pressure. Moreover,
once the decision is taken, it is clear that women powerfully take the matter
into their hands and make all key decisions. Teta,”” Midhat’s paternal grand¬
mother who affectionately raised him after his mother passed away, does not
give in when Midhat at first refuses the idea of marriage. She actively search¬
es for a bride and even takes Midhat to the Samaritans for a charm to help him
overcome his refusal. She arranges for a meeting with Fatima and her mother
so that Midhat can have a glance at Fatima through the keyhole, social restric¬
tions on the intermingling between men and women not allowing for more.
As social custom has it, Midhat proposes to Fatima via her father, who ini¬
tially refuses because he has his hopes up for a better candidate, but also Fa¬
tima’s mother, who prefers Fatima’s first cousin, has a clear say in the matter.
And last but not least, it is Fatima who takes the actual decision of marrying
Midhat. Despite her young age, she opposes her parents’ preferences and con¬
vinces her father that she wants to marry Midhat”! and this is what happens
at the end.
Moreover, in the description of the details concerning marriage the author
establishes her insider—outsider expertise. The whole episode is described with
a keen eye for “ethnographic” detail: the complementary actions undertaken
6% Ibid., 191-193.
70 Teta means grandmother in Palestinian Arabic. This lexical item is used throughout the text
without being translated. Due to limited space, the importance of the grandmother figure in
this novel, and Palestinian literature in general, cannot be further explored here. However, it
is important to indicate that Hammad dedicates her novel to her own grandmother, Teta
Ghada, who was Midhat’s youngest daughter as follows: “for Teta Ghada Js-laill JS! (li-kull
at-tafasil (for all the details)). This is the only switch to Arabic script, which enhances its
salience. This peritextual element underscores the semi-biographical character of the novel,
which is confirmed by epitextual evidence in the form of interviews with the author. The
Arabic script is also evoked in the quote referred to above: “severing the cushion of a letter
Saad [U4] from its tail”. One might wonder why the author choses to transliterate the Arabic
words and expressions rather than use the Arabic script as the outsider reader still does not
understand the meaning of the transliterated Arabic words and phrases. Several reasons could
be given for this choice. For one, the use of two scripts with different writing directions entails
practical editorial issues. Secondly, the outsider readers, even if they do not understand the
transliterated items, get a sense of these words by means of transliteration. Besides, they can
look them up on the internet if they want more explanation. The use of the Arabic script would
not allow this.
71 Hammad: “The Parisian or Al-Barisi”, 303.
.38 +