Reclaiming the Self: Gender, Performance, and Resistance in Latifa al Zayyat’s The Open Door

Hamza, Rna Essam; Abdel Fattah Imam, Nahla Saad; Reda Nasr, Rania; Nasser, Shaden Adel

doi:10.21608/misj.2025.403656.1071

Reclaiming the Self: Gender, Performance, and Resistance in Latifa al Zayyat’s The Open Door

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ English Department, Faculty of Women, Ain Shams University, Egypt

² Faculty of Human Studies, Al-Azhar University, Egypt

10.21608/misj.2025.403656.1071

Abstract

This paper examines The Open Door, a 1960 novel by Egyptian writer Latifa al-Zayyat. It is a book that explores a middle-class girl’s coming of age against the background of struggling with societal expectations, gender norms, and oppression. Al Zayyat, who was a forward-thinking writer, used her works to challenge patriarchal societies and give voice to the voiceless women. This is what continued to influence other Arab writers, while tackling the same feminine issue. Accordingly, through this bildungsroman, the paper traces Layla’s journey toward self-actualization, highlighting her defiance of patriarchal structures, stereotyping, and marginalization. Through her resistance, Layla challenges restrictive social norms, ultimately asserting women’s agency in the public sphere. Employing Judith Butler's concept of performativity, alongside with Josephine Donovan’s Images of Women approach, the analysis reveals how Layla’s experiences reflect the multifaceted oppression that women endure and their capacity for resistance, showing how her transformation challenges traditional depictions of women as passive and submissive, asserting the power of female self-determination.

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Full Text

Rna Essam is a Teaching Assistant at the Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Women for Arts, Science, and Education, Ain Shams University. She specializes in English Drama and is currently a master’s student in Comparative Literature, with a thesis titled The Female Perspective in A Doll’s House, The Open Door, and The Dilemma of a Ghost. She assists in teaching courses such as Essay Writing, Listening and Speaking, Drama and Shakespeare, and Civilization. Rna has completed several professional development courses including academic writing, international publishing, legal aspects of university work (for academic staff) and effective teaching, and has attended numerous workshops and conferences on research, artificial intelligence, and internationalization.

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