Role of Women in Salih’s “Season of Migration to the North”
In the Season of Migration to the North, Tayeb Saih portrays the heavy issues of sexism and colonialism through the role of women. The book not only informs its readers of the stereotypical gender roles, but it also illustrates the truth behind colonialism as a conquest of a people often enslaving them mentally and leaving them empty. According to this lens, the gender roles of men like Mustafa Sa’eed and Wad Rayyes represent the colonizers who ravish the colonized (personified by the female characters). Salih’s men are primarily sexual beings who see women as theirs to conquer while the women are meant to be subservient to sexual conquest.
In Mustafa Sa’eed’s world, love is a
However, he is rejected at every turn. Even when she finally agrees to marry him, she is never submissive to him. One can say that their relationship is a great example of “back lashing” colonialism. The west trying to control the south and vice versa. It seems impossible for me to verify Mustafa's true feelings about Jean Morris. His feelings could have been love, repentance, disgust or any combination of these. However, one thing is certain and that is that his feelings were dominant afar anything else aroused by any of the other woman. She impacted and changed his life in a way that none of the other woman did.
Then on the other hand we also have the role play of the Sudanese women, which is also one of submissive to men. Men are encouraged to be polygamists and those who do not have multiple wives are not seen as masculine. On the passage on pages 63-70 gender roles are clearly defined. The men talk openly about sex and their sexual partners in a competitive manner. However, Bint Majzoub is the one exception to this male dominated society. She “…was daring and uninhibited. She used to smoke, drink, and swear an oath of divorce like a man” (64). Having the ability to openly reveal which one of her past husbands has satisfied her indicated that Khartoum, though inherently sexist, still allowed for female autonomy and sexuality-even if it was under the sanctions of marriage.
Moreover, one can see the parallel between Bint Majzoub