Emergent Voices of (North) African Immigrant Women and Their Daughters in French Literature and Film

Ebook available to libraries exclusively as part of the JSTOR Path to Open initiative.

Emergent Voices is the first study of the earliest novels and films by (North) African immigrant women and their daughters in France, from 1981 to 2001. Across three sections, each of which delves into one film and one novel, this book examines how immigrant mothers, schoolgirls, and young adult women are narrated as people who reimagine national identity.

Section One, “Challenging the Inside” analyses Le Petit Prince de Belleville by Calixthe Beyala and Inch’Allah dimanche by Yamina Benguigui, dissecting how immigrant mothers refuse to be contained physically or symbolically by either the French or their families.

Section Two looks at how schoolgirls juggle ideological conflict when they travel “Outside” to go to school, in Georgette ! by Farida Belghoul and Le Petit chat est mort by Fejria Deliba.

Section Three explores the identities of young adult women, as represented in Souviens-toi de moi by Zaïda Ghorab and Le Fou de Shérazade by Leïla Sebbar. These protagonists find belonging in their French and immigrant communities by playing a dangerous game of manipulating signs of identity and slipping across borders.

Ultimately, these emergent creative voices stretch national boundaries and pave the way for more inclusive models of imagined community to develop.