Sacrifice in women's writing often revolves around two different definitions of the word. The first definition is to voluntarily give up something of value, while the second definition is to offer or kill, often in a ceremonial manner. Women's writing has a recurring motif of sacrifice where female characters are subject to sacrifice or sacrifice something of their own, and in both cases these sacrifices are usually overseen or ordered by men for the benefit men. What differs, however, is the nature of women's sacrifice and this difference often depends on their individual circumstances, with these circumstances creating different environments and practices for the treatment of women. In Clear Light of Day by Anita Desai, for example, Bimla Das, a middle-class Indian woman, partially sacrifices her autonomy to care for her autistic brother. In contrast, in Ahdaf Soueif's Aisha, Zeina, the Egyptian lower class, is sacrificed through the practice of child marriage. These two texts show that the nature of a woman's sacrifice depends on her individual situation. This essay will demonstrate that Clear Light of Day and Aisha illustrate how the circumstances of an individual's life change the meaning of sacrifice in relation to women, by examining how Bim from Clear Light of Day willingly chooses to participate in her sacrifice while Zeina of Aisha, because of the community she is a part of, she does not have this choice. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayJudith Butler writes: “By complying with a requirement of the politics of representation that feminism articulates a stable subject, feminism thus exposes itself to accusations of gross misrepresentation. .'[1] Butler talks about the issue of intersectionality and how feminism, by ignoring intersectionality, disenfranchises large numbers of women. The idea of ​​a “universal woman,” the so-called “stable subject” of feminism, is ridiculous. Butler criticizes feminists who fail to see how issues of class, race, sexuality, disability, and religion overlap with the issue of sexism. There is no “universal woman,” but rather a collection of women whose circumstances differ and who face sexism in different ways. Virginia Woolf's feminist essay, A Room of One's Own, probably means little to a member of the Dalit, or "untouchable," caste in India, because Woolf writes it to a universal woman who looks like her: white, middle class and intellectually interested. . If we are to write about how women sacrifice or are sacrificed, we must recognize that the degree of sacrifice will vary depending on the woman's situation. In England, an upper-class woman cannot sacrifice less than her lower-class counterpart, but what she sacrifices will nevertheless depend on her class. The same can be said regarding the nation, with the lower class women of England sacrificing differently than the lower class women of Egypt. Comparing the importance of sacrifice in Clear Light of Day and Aisha therefore amounts to examining the differences in the women's individual circumstances. The Das family of Clear Light of Day is presented by Desai as living on the edge of middle-class comfort. Bim, the eldest of four siblings, works as a teacher to support herself and her autistic brother Baba. They now live in their family home which is now in ruins. During his childhood, Bim showed a vitality for life, an interest inpoetry and sport and she admired historically strong female figures: "Bim of course adored Florence Nightingale with Joan of Arc in her private pantheon of saints and goddesses".[2] Although her life is not as rich in significant events as those of Nightingale or Joan of Arc, Bim dreams of becoming an independent heroine like them. This dream, however, is sacrificed due to the bigger and more aggressive dreams of his brother Raja. Raja dreams of living a life beyond his family, which he increasingly views as dysfunctional and withdrawn as he grows up: "He felt that there could be no house as dismal as his, as dusty , filthy and without charm. Surely no family could contain as many illnesses as his. [Desai, pp. 49] Instead, Raja yearns for a world of poetry and intellectual interest, his life oriented “toward society, companionship, applause; towards color, song, charm. [Desai, pp. 49] When Raja leaves the Das house to live in Hyderabad, and with his parents and aunt already dead, Bim must become the head of the family and thus abandons his dream of living independently from his family. Bim is, according to Elaine Yee Lin Ho, representative of a trope in Desai's works of women who "have accepted the constraints of domestic life in a familial and cultural situation where other choices do not seem available or where the opportunity to search for them does not present itself.” .[3] Bim's sacrifice of his independence can be read as a knowingly altruistic act. Dr. Biswas, the family doctor who takes care of Raja when he is ill, tells Bim: "You have devoted your life to others – to your sick brother, to your elderly aunt, and to your little brother who will depend on you." you all his life. You sacrificed your own life for them. [Desai, pp. 97] But despite the selflessness of her actions, Bim resents Raja for forcing her to sacrifice her own life so that he can live the way he wants and Baba has someone to take care of him. Although Bim sacrifices his dreams of grandeur on the scale of the heroine. and fame, she never faces the danger of homelessness, starvation, or a truly miserable existence. His house is guaranteed to him when Raja becomes owner and owner of the property, writing to Bim in a letter that "you can continue to have it at the same rent, I will never think of increasing it or selling the house for that long" . because you and Baba need it.' [Desai, pp. 27] In fact, Bim's main complaint in life is not that she was never able to live a heroic life like that of Florence Nightingale or Joan of Arc, but rather that she depends on charity from his brother to have a home. and she thus considers herself pitied by Raja. When Tara implores Bim to join her in coming to Raja's daughter's wedding, Bim says, "How can I?" How can I enter his house – my owner's house? Me, such a poor tenant? Because of me, he can't raise the rent or sell the house and make a profit – imagine that. The sacrifice! [Desai, pp. 29] Bim interprets Raja's promise that she and Baba will be safe as an insult to her sacrifice, insensitive to her given the fact that she gave up her life to care for Baba. Bim does not see the honor in her sacrifice, she sees her abandonment of her heroic ambition as a failure on her part and a consequence of Raja's selfishness rather than as an example of an altruistic and caring personality. Jenni Valjento writes that “Bim's martyr-like claim to home and responsibility [are] the defining elements of his personality. »[4] Bim considers living as a martyr for his brother a shame, showing a torn mentalitywhereas she is able to live selflessly in order to help her family, but is unable to respect or appreciate this altruism. Perhaps Bim's perception of herself as a martyr marred by her brother's aspirations comes from the fact that she had the aspiration and potential to lead a successful life. Guaranteed a stable and secure life thanks to Raja owning the house and her job, Bim sacrifices her noble aspirations as a heroine knowing that she will never live without it. His socio-economic status allows him to make a selfless sacrifice, it is simply his misconception of his sacrifice that prevents him from living a happy and fulfilled life. Whereas Bim knowingly, albeit bitterly, sacrifices her independence knowing full well that she will never live. a life lacking anything other than said independence, Zeina in Aisha is unwittingly sacrificed. Zeina, the main character's nurse, Aisha, is married at the age of fifteen to her nineteen-year-old cousin and the marriage depersonalizes Zeina as a person in her own right. In marriage, Zeina seems secondary to her husband. When her grandmother describes what marriage will mean to her, Zeina is told: "You will be his wife and he will be your husband and you will serve him and you will do what he tells you." »[5] The tone with which this is said and the absolute nature of the statement shows that Zeina, then a teenager and who would later admit that “I knew nothing about marriage”, had no choice in the matter. [Soueif, pp. 85] Zeina has already had her independence taken away, unlike how Bim willingly gives it up. Zeina shows very little concern about marriage, instead allowing herself to be enveloped by the romance of marriage and the supposed glamor of the ceremony. She says that "my wedding box had been ready for years" and, as she was only fifteen at the time, it shows how much of Zeina's life, what little there was until now, has prepared for the moment of her wedding. However, the romance of the wedding ceremony is soon undone by what looks like a sacrificial ceremony centered around Zeina's virginity. Zeina's recounts the involvement of a Mashta, whom Zeina describes as "the woman who comes to adorn the bride". [Soueif, pp. 86] Zeina is prepared for the marriage ceremony by having her body waxed in order to make her more sexually attractive to her husband: "The hair on your legs and on your body, to make you beautiful and smooth while married. [Soueif, pp. 87] Zeina describes the process as horrible and painful, saying: "I struggled to get up but they held me down and the Mashta kept rolling out the dough and tearing it off while I cried and screamed until I was completely clean. ' [Soueif, pp. 89] It is clearly shown that Zeina, who previously viewed marriage as exciting and romantic, was not the subject of marriage. Marriage is not at all about marrying for one's own interests, but rather about having one's needs met. The ceremony itself continues this display of cruelty and barbarity when Zeina's virginity is tested: "I stood there writhing and crying panting as he knelt down and thrust his bandaged finger into me, making him running around in circles and going in and out while I screamed and screamed. Finally he removed it. The bandage was soaked in blood. [Soueif, pp. 91-92] This entire sacrificial scene is normalized in Zeina's story as if it were completely ordinary. Zeina is presented as belonging to a lower class through her work as a nurse with Aisha, as well as through the family business inherited from her husband: “He was a butcher like his father”. [Soueif, pp. 85] Later, she almost seems to look at the scene with nostalgia. “They told me toundress and I was so shy,” Zeina said with a laugh. » [Soueif, pp. 87] The fact that she laughs when remembering how she was cruelly humiliated during Mashta's hair removal suggests that she felt naive at the time; it undermines his own shyness, apprehension and fear. Her protests, her demonstrations of independence or secession from marriage are rejected by her aunt: “Come on, Zeina, don't be a spoiled child. Protesting an unwanted marriage and defending oneself is considered a "treat", suggesting that a grateful child, or someone who is aware of their own place, should accept the marriage and be grateful for it. Zeina's story shows that being symbolically sacrificed in a violent wedding ceremony is normal within her community, lower-class rural Egyptians. She doesn't realize that she has completely lacked autonomy during the process and that her life is defined by her husband. Zeina's circumstances, radically different and significantly harsher than Bim's, do not put her in a position to make sacrifices, but rather to simply be the sacrifice. Although Clear Light of Day and Aisha show that a woman's individual circumstances are integral to the nature of the sacrifice she will make or be made, both texts also show that sacrifice permeates women's lives despite questions of intersectionality. With sacrifice being a constant factor in their lives, women are not only the subjects of sacrifice, but are often its instigators or participants. The French philosopher Simone de Beauvoir writes that "patriarchal society, for example, being centered on the conversation of heritage, necessarily implies, alongside those who own and transmit wealth, the existence of men and women who take away the property to their owners and put it into circulation. »[6] By writing “men and women,” Beauvoir recognizes the extent to which women, just as much as men, are integral to the continuation of patriarchal processes, sacrifice being no exception. Yet even when women are not the subject of sacrifice, intersectionality plays a role in how they relate to it. Tara, Bim's younger sister, is presented as more stereotypically feminine, gentle and unambitious than her sister: "Tara didn't tell him that she hoped to never have to do anything in the world, that she wanted only hiding under Aunt Mira's blanket or behind the bushes in the garden and never being asked to come out and do anything, to prove that she was something. [Desai, pp. 126] ​​Tara has no ambition or dream in the world other than to escape her life in old Delhi and she achieves this by marrying Bakul who becomes a foreign diplomat. In marrying, like Raja, Tara leaves Bim to care for Bakul and is therefore just as implicit in the necessity of Bim's sacrifice of his ambition as Raja. As can be seen in Zeina's wedding ceremony, women are also involved in the more brutal elements of symbolic female sacrifice. The women Zeina trusts, her aunt and grandmother, are involved in the humiliating act of Mashta's waxing: "I kept my grandmother, but she took off my shirt and my aunt took it away from me.” [Soueif, pp. 87] They are then involved in the even crueler marriage ceremony with other women: “Suddenly, four women surrounded me and pulled me to the ground. One pinned my shoulders while the other held my waist and my aunt and grandmother took off my panties. [Soueif, pp. 91] As Amin Malak writes, Zeina is “shocked by the violence and force used by the.. 142