Gender Dynamics in Naguib Mahfuz's "The Answer Is No" A Critical Discourse Analysis of Power, Trauma, and Independence

Abstract

"The Answer Is No" by Naguib Mahfuz unveils the subtle emotional and psychological agony that a female teacher goes through when Badran Badawi, her former private instructor, takes on the role of headmaster at her school. A woman’s childhood trauma is shown through flashbacks when the protagonist exposes Badran’s reprehensible actions as well as his perjury to marry her. Using Fairclough’s Three-Dimensional Model of CDA, the paper explores the multi-layered element of power relationship, trauma, and resilience in the process of the protagonist. Through textual, discursive, and social practices, the analysis reveals how the author’s work presents the conventional, professional, and sociocultural perspective. Overall, the paper emphasizes the importance of literature as a tool that illuminates the issues of social injustice that take place in society, and as a depiction of the main character who does not give up her identity in front of societal collapse.

Keywords: Trauma, Power, Independence and Tri-dimensional Model