Temporal indications in the novel Women of the Thresholds by Hadiya Hussain based on the theory of Gerard Gent

Abstract

The novel, Women of the Thresholds, is a social story that focuses on the American invasion of Iraq, and Hussain's gift seeks to show the scourge of war and its effects on society. This research, with its descriptive and analytical approach, tries to study the different components of time in this novel, based on Gerard Genet's theory. Time, according to Gerard Gent, is manifested in systems, continuity (duration) and frequency. The study concluded that time is one of the important elements in this novel, and it is characterized by the absence of linearity in time and its violation, as time ranges between the past and the present. These violations and paradoxes did not create a breach in the narration, but rather made it harmonious and made the reader in close contact with the events of the novel. And that the use of time indicators is compatible with the writer's goals (which is to show the scourge of war and its effects) because showing the state of war and its impact on people requires more clarification and more details. Although slowing down the pace of the novel, this provides context to bring the reader closer to the atmosphere of the story. Thus, it makes the reader more connected and sympathetic to the characters of the story so that he can see himself in their position. It can be said that Hussain's gift searches for information and meaning more than narrative structure and charm. It puts the elements and structure of the narrative at the service of the meaning, so sometimes the structure falls victim to the meaning as it makes the novel boring for the reader because of the extra descriptions in it.