Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood in Around the World in 80 Books

Jun 11, 2010 Elizabeth rated it it was amazing

Shelves: autobiographical, africa, mena, nonfiction, history

A Moroccan Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Well, not quite. But there is something of the wistfulness of Francie in Fatima Mernissi, a young girl growing up within the confines of a harem in Fez. The idea of a harem in the 1940s is somewhat different than the stereotype, and the definition of the word is something that Mernissi goes into in great detail. Let's just say that there are no eunuchs waving palm fronds or scenes from The History of the World, Part I, or Scheherazade. Although, the tales of Sc A Moroccan Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Well, not quite. But there is something of the wistfulness of Francie in Fatima Mernissi, a young girl growing up within the confines of a harem in Fez. The idea of a harem in the 1940s is somewhat different than the stereotype, and the definition of the word is something that Mernissi goes into in great detail. Let's just say that there are no eunuchs waving palm fronds or scenes from The History of the World, Part I, or Scheherazade. Although, the tales of Scheherazade do feature prominently in the female culture of the harem.

I loved this book. It's absolutely fascinating. I love how Mernissi mixes her own lively childhood experiences of hiding in olive jars, trips to the hammam, homemade beauty treatments, her extended family's love of storytelling, the role of slaves in their home, and then contrasts it with the frustration her mother feels from living in a traditional household and being illiterate. The role of women during this time period sounds like a real challenge.

There are also some great observations about the American soldiers who arrived in Morocco during WWII. Apparently, they went right for the ladies.

A few quotes that I found striking:
"Once I asked Mina why she danced so smoothly while most of the wother women made abrupt, jerky movements, and she said that many of the women confused liberation with agitation. 'Some ladies are angry with their lives,' she said 'and so even their dance becomes an expression of that.' Angry women are hostages of their anger. They cannot escape it and set themselves free, which is indeed a sad fate. The worst of prisons is a self-created one." p.162

"'Mothers should tell little girls and boys about the importance of dreams,' Aunt Habiba said. 'They give a sense direction. It is not enough to reject this courtyard--you need to have a vision of the meadows with which you want to replace it.' But how, I asked Aunt Habiba, could you distinguish among all the wishes, all the cravings which besieged you, and find the one on which you ought to focus, the important dream that gave you vision? She said that little children had to be patient, the key dream would emerge and bloom within, and then, from the intense pleasure it gave you, you would know that that it was the genuine little treasure which would give you direction and light." p. 214

"Maturity is when you start feeling the motion of zaman (time) as if it is a sensuous caress." p.216 ...more

6 likes · Like · see review