Female Subjectivity under Political Power: A Comparative Study of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and Latifa Al-Zayyat’s The Open Door

Section: Article
Issue
Vol. 22 No. 2 (2026): Volume (22) Issue (2) June 2026
Published
Jun 1, 2026
Pages
294-315

Abstract

Present paper compares Margaret Atwood’s dystopian fiction The Handmaid’s Tale (1985) with Latifa Al‑Zayyat’s Egyptian realism fiction, The Open Door (Al-Bab al-Maftooh) (1960). Comparison concentrates on female subjectivity under patriarchal political power. Regardless of  difference in genre, language, and historical setting, the two novels question women’s perspectives, political awareness, and  social systems that delineate female autonomy. Analysis is based on a feminist comparative methodology of biopolitical theory of Foucault, the postcolonial feminist criticism of Mohanty,  narrative voice and authority of Lanser. By juxtaposing literary techniques, thematic concerns (patriarchy, nationalism, sexuality, memory), and  styles of resistance, this paper explains the two protagonist’s psychological experiences as sites of political struggle and radical transformation. Additionally, the comparative approach reflects both  universality and cultural distinctiveness of women’s reactions to patriarchal control.

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Author

Lujain Yousif Thannoon

University of Mosul, College of Basic Education, Department of English, Mosul, Iraq.

Identifiers

https://doi.org/10.33899/berj.2026.Vol22.Iss2.62229
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Lujain Yousif Thannoon. (2026). Female Subjectivity under Political Power: A Comparative Study of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and Latifa Al-Zayyat’s The Open Door. College of Basic Education Research Journal, 22(2), 294–315. https://doi.org/10.33899/berj.2026.Vol22.Iss2.62229
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