From the Other Shore: Exploring Home and Spatial Duality in Leïla Sebbar’s Le silence des rives (Silence on the Shores)

The duality of here and there is a recurring motif in Maghrebian exile literature, which revolves around the experiences of North African immigrants who reside in Europe. This dualistic framework underscores the sense of displacement and cultural alienation that many immigrants experience in their...

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Main Author: Nassima Amirouche
Format: Article
Language:deu
Published: Vilnius University Press 2023-12-01
Series:Literatūra (Vilnius)
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Online Access:https://www.zurnalai.vu.lt/literatura/article/view/31766
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author Nassima Amirouche
author_facet Nassima Amirouche
author_sort Nassima Amirouche
collection DOAJ
description The duality of here and there is a recurring motif in Maghrebian exile literature, which revolves around the experiences of North African immigrants who reside in Europe. This dualistic framework underscores the sense of displacement and cultural alienation that many immigrants experience in their new homes, as they find themselves straddling two cultures and struggling to find a sense of belonging in either of them. Leïla Sebbar’s novel Le silence des rives portrays the last day in the life of a Maghrebian immigrant in France, whose life is fraught with unfulfilled promises and shattered dreams. The present article examines how spatial duality and the here-there dichotomy serve as the main device for the exploration of the lives of the novel’s characters. This article also highlights the argument that the notions of “home” and “belonging” are not merely physical, but also emotional and psychological. The concept of spatial duality, as developed by Gaston Bachelard, provides a valuable framework for understanding the intricate relationship between exiles’ experiences of physical and psychological space. The postcolonial reading perspective also elucidates the complexity of (im)migrant subjectivity and the discourse of belonging.
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spelling doaj-art-958bbc7d59234a73a71c223547af2c522025-02-11T18:16:34ZdeuVilnius University PressLiteratūra (Vilnius)0258-08021648-11432023-12-0165410.15388/Litera.2023.65.4.5From the Other Shore: Exploring Home and Spatial Duality in Leïla Sebbar’s Le silence des rives (Silence on the Shores)Nassima Amirouche0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8101-7661Université de M'Sila, Algeria The duality of here and there is a recurring motif in Maghrebian exile literature, which revolves around the experiences of North African immigrants who reside in Europe. This dualistic framework underscores the sense of displacement and cultural alienation that many immigrants experience in their new homes, as they find themselves straddling two cultures and struggling to find a sense of belonging in either of them. Leïla Sebbar’s novel Le silence des rives portrays the last day in the life of a Maghrebian immigrant in France, whose life is fraught with unfulfilled promises and shattered dreams. The present article examines how spatial duality and the here-there dichotomy serve as the main device for the exploration of the lives of the novel’s characters. This article also highlights the argument that the notions of “home” and “belonging” are not merely physical, but also emotional and psychological. The concept of spatial duality, as developed by Gaston Bachelard, provides a valuable framework for understanding the intricate relationship between exiles’ experiences of physical and psychological space. The postcolonial reading perspective also elucidates the complexity of (im)migrant subjectivity and the discourse of belonging. https://www.zurnalai.vu.lt/literatura/article/view/31766alienationdislocationexilehomespace duality
spellingShingle Nassima Amirouche
From the Other Shore: Exploring Home and Spatial Duality in Leïla Sebbar’s Le silence des rives (Silence on the Shores)
Literatūra (Vilnius)
alienation
dislocation
exile
home
space duality
title From the Other Shore: Exploring Home and Spatial Duality in Leïla Sebbar’s Le silence des rives (Silence on the Shores)
title_full From the Other Shore: Exploring Home and Spatial Duality in Leïla Sebbar’s Le silence des rives (Silence on the Shores)
title_fullStr From the Other Shore: Exploring Home and Spatial Duality in Leïla Sebbar’s Le silence des rives (Silence on the Shores)
title_full_unstemmed From the Other Shore: Exploring Home and Spatial Duality in Leïla Sebbar’s Le silence des rives (Silence on the Shores)
title_short From the Other Shore: Exploring Home and Spatial Duality in Leïla Sebbar’s Le silence des rives (Silence on the Shores)
title_sort from the other shore exploring home and spatial duality in leila sebbar s le silence des rives silence on the shores
topic alienation
dislocation
exile
home
space duality
url https://www.zurnalai.vu.lt/literatura/article/view/31766
work_keys_str_mv AT nassimaamirouche fromtheothershoreexploringhomeandspatialdualityinleilasebbarslesilencedesrivessilenceontheshores