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Reading the ‘anti- conquest’: A Critique of Orientalist and Exoticist Representations in Lucie Duff Gordon’s Letters From Egypt

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Last updated: 28 Dec 2024

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Abstract

This paper aims to analyze Lucie Duff Gordon's Letters from Egypt in light of Mary Louise Pratt's coined term “anti-conquest" which refers to “the strategies of representation whereby the European subject secures his innocence while maintaining western hegemony" (7). Taking Pratt's term as a point of departure, the paper exposes the complexity of the representations of Egyptians in Gordon's letters which simultaneously perpetuate English moral supremacy while acknowledging Egyptian diversity. These representations have contributed to constructing a specific image of Gordon as the Victorian traveler who could authentically represent “real" Egyptians. In this sense, the constructed image of Egypt is produced by the traveler's gaze; however, this gaze is also a reflective gaze that reflects distorted images of the self. Gordon's representations oscillate between reinscribing imperial hierarchical power relations while simultaneously humanizing the Egyptian Other. The paper draws on Victor Segalen's concept of the exot to further explore Gordon's representations whichemphasize Egyptians' diversity. Hence, the study aims to engage with recent interest in women travel writing filling a gap in studies on Lucie Duff Gordon's Egypt which tends to highlight one aspect only pertaining to her humane perspective of Egyptians.

DOI

10.21608/ejels.2016.123255

Keywords

Victorian women travel writing, representations of Egyptians, Lady Duff Gordon, exoticism, Pratt’s anti-conquest, Segalen’s exot

Authors

First Name

Sherine Fouad Mazloum

Last Name

Mazloum

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Volume

7

Article Issue

1

Related Issue

18458

Issue Date

2016-12-01

Receive Date

2020-11-16

Publish Date

2016-12-01

Page Start

282

Page End

322

Print ISSN

2735-4431

Online ISSN

2735-4830

Link

https://ejels.journals.ekb.eg/article_123255.html

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https://ejels.journals.ekb.eg/service?article_code=123255

Order

8

Type

Scientific Articles

Type Code

1,594

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

Egyptian Journal of English Language and Literature Studies

Publication Link

https://ejels.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

Reading the ‘anti- conquest’: A Critique of Orientalist and Exoticist Representations in Lucie Duff Gordon’s Letters From Egypt

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Article

Created At

23 Jan 2023