full title Distant View of a Minaret
author Alifa Rifaat
type of work Collection of short stories
genre Women’s literature, African literature
language Arabic
time and place written Early 1980s, Egypt
date of first publication 1983
publisher Heinemann Educational Books, Ltd.
narrator Varies from story to story. Sometimes first-person narrative, sometimes
third-person omniscient narrator
point of view Usually that of a Muslim woman, either a wife, widow, mother, or child
struggling against the restrictive norms of Islamic society or the
infidelity/inconsideration of her husband
tone Serious, solemn, and/or melancholy
tense Usually present tense
setting (time) Twentieth century
setting (place) Cairo, Egypt, and outlying provinces
protagonist Usually a Muslim woman, either a wife, widow, mother, or young girl,
except in “At the Time of the Jasmine,” in which a middle-aged Egyptian man is
the protagonist
major conflict Woman vs. the social constructs of arranged marriages, limited freedom
for women, and the infidelity and inconsideration of husbands
rising action Varies for each story
themes The importance of love in marriage; the tyranny of husbands; the impact
of death on the living; the cost of freedom for women
motifs Daily prayers; religion in daily language; widows
symbols The snake; the canal
foreshadowing Varies by story
