The wandering Palestinian as reflected in the novel Imra'at al-risāla by the Palestinian writer Rajā' Bakriyya

The article examines the writing of Rajā' Bakriyya, who is considered a prominent new generation Palestinian woman writer in Israel, focusing on her latest novel, Imra'at al-risāla (The Letter Woman, 2007). It points to the way Bakriyya feminizes the novel from every possible aspect, even the national-political dimension which is integrated into the novel, creating a narrative which is truly her own. The article focuses on the integration of the national-political reality into the text, especially the female protagonist's journey of wandering between homeland and exile, which is presented as a metaphor for the wandering Palestinian. Bakriyya articulates this journey in a unique way, as a journey between the beloved and a lover. Leaving the homeland is described as leaving the beloved while returning to the homeland is described as a returning to the eternal beloved one. The uniqueness of the novel lies in the innovative and unconventional way in which it describes this journey.