Desert Space in the Maghrebi Arab Novel: A Comparative Ontological Study

Abstract

This study examines the depiction of the desert in Maghrebi Arabic novels from their inception to the end of the twentieth century. The primary objective of the study is to provide a chronological overview of Maghrebi novels that have taken the desert as a central theme, presenting them in order of their appearance and offering a brief summary of each. This aims to familiarize researchers and Francophone and Western readers with the role of the desert in Maghrebi Arabic literature, an area still lacking in Francophone and Western academic studies.

The study does not engage in an in-depth analysis of each novel due to the large number of works examined. Instead, it categorizes Maghrebi Arabic novels into two groups: those written in Arabic and those written in French, followed by a presentation of the novels in each category.

The research seeks to answer the following questions: Why did early Arabic novels initially avoid the desert? How did Arabic novels, influenced in both form and content by Western literature at their inception, engage with the theme of the desert? What are the characteristics and themes explored in Maghrebi desert novels written in Arabic, and how do they compare to those in desert novels written in French? Who are the most prominent Maghrebi novelists who have addressed the desert theme, and what are their key works?

Finally, the study conducts a comparative analysis of Al-Khusuf (The Eclipse) by Ibrahim al-Koni (written in Arabic) and La Prière de l’Absent (The Prayer of the Absent) by Tahar Ben Jelloun (written in French), considering them as significant desert novels that blend historical and fictional elements.