Cave Culture in Maghrebi Literature

Christa Jones is assistant professor of French in the Department of Languages, Philosophy and Communication Studies at Utah State University. She has published numerous articles on North African Francophone literature and film in peer-reviewed journals such as Contemporary French and Francophone Studies, Dalhousie French Studies, Expressions Maghrébines, Francofonia, French Review, Nouvelles Etudes Francophones, and Women Studies Quarterly, among others. She is co-editing a special issue on Women from the Maghreb for Dalhousie French Studies.

• IntroductionChapter One: Sites of Wonders and Miracles: The Cave in Kabylian FolktalesThe Cave in Islam and the Legend of the Seven SleepersTales of Wonder and Magic: Metamorphoses in Troglodytic Caves “Zalghoum, la belle promise,” “Loundja, plus belle que la lune,” and “Fibule d’argentPlaces of Transfiguration, Female Disobedience, and Emancipation "L’oiseau vert,” “Une histoire d’ogre,” and “Histoire de l’ogre et de la belle femme,”Rites of Passage, Gateways to Happiness, Insight, and Maturation “La bague enchantée,” Pépé Colosso,” “Ahmed, fils de bûcheron,” and “Chrab Dekhane”Of Treasures, Divination, and Hideous Crimes “Attiallah,” “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves,” “La caverne des Djinns,” and “Tout secret se trouve un jour dévoilé” Chapter Two: Wo(men) in Caverns, Wo(men) at War: The War NovelsDeath traps in Djebar’s Fantasia and in Bey’s Pierre sang papier ou cendreThe Involvement of Moudjahidates—Myth versus RealityResisting War: Yamina Méchakra’s La grotte éclatéeCrushing the Rebels’ Resistance - Georges Buis’s La grotteClearly Out of Luck: Nabile Farès’ Yahia, pas de chanceFrom one War to Another: Waciny Larêej’s La gardienne des ombresChapter Three: Country vs. City: Of Troglodytes, Peasants, Drifters, and Women Of Troglodytes and Tradition: Driss Chraïbi’s Une enquête au paysAwakening Femininity: Hawa Djabali’s Glaise rougeDiscovering Femininity: Hawa Djabali’s AgaveMoumen Smihi’s El Chergui, Vent de l’est ou le silence violentMohammed Dib’s Qui se souvient de la merMohamed Choukri’s Le pain nuChapter Four: Of Sexuality, Desire, and Madness in Tahar Ben Jelloun’s TextsDeviant Sexualities: From Harrouda to L’enfant de sableThe Madman: Moha le fou, Moha le sageBen Jelloun’s La fiancée de l’eau, a Feminist PlayUnbridled Sexuality, Desire, and Dream Culture in La nuit de l’erreurAfterword

Jones (French, Utah State Univ.) highlights the importance of the cave and cave imagery in Maghrebi culture and the pervasive presence of the cave in Francophone literature from the region. Taking as source texts works by major Francophone North African writers (Mohammed Dib, Tahar Ben Jelloun, Assia Djebar, and others) and filmmakers (Moumen Smihi), the author traces the longevity of cave imagery through its presence in Islamic and pre-Islamic oral traditions, as evidenced in the folktales that are also among the primary sources for this study. Jones seems to have anticipated that this study of the cave as symbol and metaphor might interest readers with little prior knowledge of Francophone North African literature and/or the recent history of the region because she includes a great deal of such background information in the text. She succeeds in demonstrating the multifaceted role of the cave as a literary motif and its symbolic value in imagining the nation and national identity. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students, researchers, faculty.