Confronting stereotypes and seeking for fulfilment in the hostland: an analysis of Muslim female characters in Aboulela’s Elsewhere, Home

Abstract

[eng] The displacement that migration entails is a challenging issue to overcome, especially when a cultural clash between communities is notable. The lack of belonging and the confrontation of stereotypes are impediments to take into consideration when it comes to subsistence in a foreign context. This dissertation focuses on the action of representative female characters in Aboulela’s Elsewhere, Home (2018), going through their different but parallel lives in a diasporic context. How they deal with the stereotypes concerning Arab and Muslim cultures will be relevant for their study both as individuals and as part of a community, as well as their cultural heritage, their beauty routines and the practice of their faith. This paper particularly intends to analyse their pursuit of personal fulfilment in an in-between scene and how all the previous factors condition their quest, to prove whether a development of self-growth and full-agency eventually play a major role in maintaining their identity.