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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, Midhat’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 grandmother who affectionately raised him after his mother passed away, does not give in when Midhat at first refuses the idea of marriage. She actively searches 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 restrictions on the intermingling between men and women not allowing for more. As social custom has it, Midhat proposes to Fatima via her father, who initially refuses because he has his hopes up for a better candidate, but also Fatima’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 convinces 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 +
