Fragmentation of the Female Self in the Novel Spider Woman by the Saudi Novelist Qamasha Al-Alyan: A Study in Stream of Consciousness Techniques

Abstract

This research aims to address the fragmentation of the female self in the novel Spider Woman from the perspective of the stream of consciousness, which left an aesthetic and structural impact on the narrative text. It is considered one of the important experimental techniques employed in modern narration due to its ability to depict the character’s consciousness with precision and realism, especially after these texts opened up to the worlds of consciousness and unconsciousness. The study is divided into an introduction, a preface, and three main sections. The introduction is dedicated to defining the studied novel, while the preface deals with the theoretical framework of the study. The first section addresses the technique of the internal monologue as a tool to reveal the repressed internal rhythm. The second section focuses on the technique of free association as a mechanism to evoke the past without chronological order. The third section discusses the multiplicity of narrative voices, reflecting the crisis of self-fragmentation and the overlap between social references.