Introduction
Tahar Ben Jelloun’s “The Sand Child” is a novel that explores themes of gender and economic status and the consequences of patriarchy in Moroccan society. The book tells the story of a wealthy Moroccan man who desires a male heir but instead has seven daughters. He raises his youngest daughter as a boy to fulfill his patriarchal expectations. In “The Sand Child,” Tahar Ben Jelloun presents a powerful critique of patriarchy in Moroccan society and its impact on individuals and families. This essay aims to delve deeper into this issue, highlighting the intersectionality of gender and economic status and the consequences of patriarchy in Moroccan society.
Discussion
The passage I selected from Tahar Ben Jelloun’s “The Sand Child sheds” light on the complex gender dynamics in Moroccan society during the early 20th century. “The father had no luck. He was convinced that some distant, heavy curse weighed on his life: out of seven births, he had had seven daughters. The house was occupied by ten women—the seven daughters, the mother, Aunt Aysha, and Malika, the old servant woman. The curse was spread over time. The father thought that one daughter would have been enough. Seven was too many; tragic, even” (Jelloun, 1987). The father’s desperation to produce a male offspring reflects the deeply rooted societal expectation that men must produce a son to carry on the family’s lineage. The passage demonstrates that the desire for male offspring is so strong that it can lead to shame and despair for women who cannot fulfill this expectation.
This societal pressure affects women and men, who feel emasculated and humiliated when they cannot produce a son. The narrator’s words, “the curse was spread over time,” highlight this issue’s generational nature (Jelloun, 1987). The belief that men must produce a son is so deeply entrenched in Moroccan culture that it has been passed down from generation to generation. This expectation affects the emotional well-being of women who cannot produce male offspring, leading to a sense of hopelessness and a loss of purpose.
The passage also highlights the intersectionality of this issue. The family in the story is burdened by the pressure to produce male offspring and their economic status. The father’s inability to produce a male heir is exacerbated by the fact that he cannot afford an enormous household or additional wives who may be able to produce a son. Moreover, the father’s lamentations also express his economic struggles and his difficulty in providing for his family.
The passage demonstrates the consequences of patriarchy in Moroccan society. The societal expectation that men must produce a son to carry on the family name is deeply entrenched and affects women and men. The emphasis on male offspring creates a sense of desperation and hopelessness for women who cannot fulfill this expectation, leading to emotional suffering and despair. The passage underscores the need for societal change to address these gender dynamics and the need to move beyond patriarchal beliefs perpetuating gender inequality.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the passage from “The Sand Child” by Tahar Ben Jelloun highlights the complex gender dynamics in early 20th-century Moroccan society. The societal pressure on men to produce male offspring to carry on the family’s lineage affects women and men, leading to despair and emasculation. The intersectionality of gender and economic status exacerbates the issue, leading to hopelessness and loss of purpose. The passage highlights the consequences of patriarchy in Moroccan society and the need for societal change to address these gender dynamics and move beyond patriarchal beliefs perpetuating gender inequality.
Reference
Jelloun, T. B. (1987). The Sand Child. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.