Woman at Point Zero is a novel by Nawal El Saadawi written in 1977. The novel is based on Saadawi’s meeting with a female prisoner in Qanatir Prison and is the first-person account of Firdaus, a murderess who has agreed to tell her life story before her execution. The novel explores the themes of women and their traditional place within a patriarchal African society.
The novel is divided into three parts. Chapter 1 follows the narrator, who is also the author, as she describes her experiences as a psychiatrist in Egypt. She gives insights into the psychological effects of prison on female prisoners. Chapter 2 is about Firdaus’s life story. She begins to tell her life story, from her childhood to her current situation. In Chapter 3 of Woman at Point Zero, after Firdaus finishes her story, the police come to her cell and take her away to be executed. The psychiatrist, who now is the narrator, leaves the cell and is ashamed of the world.
In this post, I am going to summarise Chapter 3 of Woman at Point Zero.
Chapter 3 Summary of Woman at Point Zero
Firdaus’s voice suddenly falls silent. The psychiatrist moves her body slowly, as if waking up from a dream or trance. The ground is cold underneath her, but she cannot feel it. She wonders if she’s dreaming, but she realizes she’s not when the door suddenly opens. The policemen have come to take Firdaus away for execution. The psychiatrist sees Firdaus walk out of the cell with the men, and she never sees her again.
Firdaus’s words continue to resonate in her ears; she envisions Firdaus’s words spreading across the world, spreading truth, and the fear that comes from truth. The psychiatrist gets into her car and drives away from the prison.
Inside, she feels shame; looking around, she sees a world full of lies and hypocrisy. She presses hard on the accelerator of her car in an attempt to run over the world and its lies—but right after she accelerates, she stomps on her brakes. At that moment, she realizes that Firdaus had more courage than she.
Other Chapters:
Further Reading:
- Analysis of Nawal El Saadawi’s Woman at Point Zero
- Characters in Nawal El Saadawi’s Woman at Point Zero
- Themes in Nawal El Saadawi’s Woman at Point Zero
- Memorable Quotes from Nawal El Saadawi’s Woman at Point Zero
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