埃及女作家納娃勒·賽阿達維著作頗豐、影響深遠,在當代阿拉伯世界頗具爭議。由于她在性、宗教和政治等方面的異見,一直在阿拉伯本土受到打壓,不僅"文學家"的身份得不到承認,甚至連"女性"的身份都遭到質疑。本論文認為,賽阿達維的寫作生涯是她反思和探索母語阿拉伯語的過程,她從語法、語言習慣和言外之意等多方面著手,嘗試指出和弱化阿拉伯語承載的父權文化色彩和陽性中心主義價值觀,馴服這陌生的"母語",也呼吁女作家和她們的讀者通過對語言本身的思考,更加全面地認識自我和世界。

As a prolific writer and militant activist, the Egyptian Nawal Al-Saadawi lived a life of controversy. She suffered more than her fair share of censorship in many Arab countries due to her audacious discussions of sexuality, religion and politics. Many fellow Arab writers hesitate to call her works "literature," and a few of them accused her of forsaking her "femininity." This essay argues that Al-Saadawi writes as she explores the Arabic language, reflecting upon its grammar, linguistic habits and connotations. She tries to recognize and reduce the many patriarchal values within the Arabic language, taming the estranged mother language, claiming it as her own, and urging women writers to observe the world from new perspectives.