BREAKING PATRIARCHAL VOICES: STORYTELLING AS AN EMPOWERING FEMINIST TOOL IN AFGHAN NARRATIVES OF HASHIMI AND HOSSEINI

Chaker  Mohamad Salim Abas

doi:10.21618/fil2633419m

Autor/innen

Chaker Mohamad Salim Abas Beirut Arab University Faculty of Human Sciences Department of English

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21618/fil2633419m

Schlagworte:

Storytelling, narrative theory, feminist voice, patriarchal erasure, Afghan diasporic literature, counter-narratives, Nadia Hashimi, Khaled Hosseini, bell hooks

Abstract

Storytelling is a foundational human practice that preserves collective memory, transmits cultural wisdom, and constitutes reality. Drawing on Walter Benjamin’s reflections in “The Storyteller” in Illuminations (Benjamin 1968/2007), this article foregrounds the storyteller’s role as a mediator or transmitter of experience, whose authority lies not in mere information but in the capacity to weave meaning into communal life. Complementing this, Jerome Bruner’s “The Narrative Construction of Reality” (1991) situates narrative as essential to the cultural frameworks through which reality itself is apprehended, underscoring its epistemological force. From a feminist perspective, storytelling acquires heightened significance as a means of reclaiming silenced voices and resisting patriarchal erasure. Carol Galligan’s In a Different Voice (1993) and bell hooks’ Talking Back (1989/2015) reflect the urgency of narrative in foregrounding women’s agency and authorship. This framework is applied to contemporary Afghan diasporic literature, where storytelling functions as survival and empowerment. Through Nadia Hashimi’s The Pearl that Broke its Shell (2014) and Khaled Hosseini’s And the Mountains Echoed (2013), the paper demonstrates how oral genealogies, epistolary forms, and fragmented communication converge to construct feminist counter-narratives against patriarchal structures. These texts situate Afghan women’s experiences within broader historical, cultural, and transnational contexts, revealing storytelling as a critical site of resilience, resistance, and narrative justice.

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