"Woman at Point Zero" is a novel about a woman's constant search for acceptance in society. She endures physical changes, changes in location, and foremost- emotional changes. The way she perceives society is constantly changing, and every time she is convinced to try something new, in order to become more accepted in society, she has to face the truth that she isn't respected, and thus she starts the cycle searching for respect once again. Only until she decides to face death she is no longer uncertain about her position in society, and only then she accepts her place and decides to end her search for acceptance. Throughout the novel Nawal El Saadawi's use of metaphor and imagery is constantly evident, and it helps promote the incentive Saadawi has in mind for the reader to acknowledge.
One of the earliest, and probably most significant changes she goes through, are involving eyes.
Prostitute talking to a potential customer in West...
Prostitute c.1890
English: Nawal El Saadavi, Brussel, BelgiumFrom one of her earliest memories as a child, she had thought she had her mother's eyes watching her, and helping to bring her up into the world. However, as she seizes to be young, the comfort she receives when being looked at totally changes, and becomes replaced by feelings of violation when looked at. As she grows older, the more threatened she feels when being watched, along with feelings of being invaded, and her body not being her own. For example, when she is looked at by her husband, Mamoud, she feels violated by the fact that he keeps watching her every bite, waiting to see if she would finish early.
This complexity she has with making sure that her body is her own and nobody else's develops into an obsession to prove to herself that she is her own property. This obsession escalades, and she...