Prostitutes and mothers: representations of women in two Moroccan francophone novels

Moroccan francophone literature, since its inception in the 1950s, has generally been concerned with examining issues such as cultural and linguistic identity, revolt and denouncing social inequalities and injustices in a post-colonial setting. In the present study, I aim to examine how two important Moroccan francophone authors, Tahar Ben Jelloun and Abdelhak Serhane, have both written their first novels (Harrouda and Messaouda, respectively) as harsh commentaries about Moroccan society and perceived injustices within that society. I examine specifically the representations of prostitutes in the novels, for whom the novels are named, and also the mothers of the narrators, as both sets of women are marginalized characters in a patriarchal society. The depictions of their respective situations as women are one of the ways Ben Jelloun and Serhane turn their novels into social commentaries. I consider several sociological and psychological studies in order to better understand how woman are perceived by Moroccan society to provide a point of reference for understanding the women represented in the novels.