Orientalizing Algeria: André Gide’s The Immoralist (1902) and Edith Maud Hull’s The Sheik (1919).

Abstract

The following research work is a comparative study of Andre Gide’s The Immoralist (1902) and E.M. Hull’s The Sheik (1919). To achieve our purpose, we have relied on Edward Said’s Orientalism (1978). We have first studied the depiction of the Oriental setting “the Agerian desert”, and the stereotypical description of the land that is exoticised and sexualized. Then, we have dealt with mis/representation of we/ men characters in both novels relying our analysis of this chapter on “otherness” as an Orientalist aspect. The two authors feature both the land and its inhabitant with a set of stereotypical images. After the examination of Gide’s and Hull’s respective works, we have come to the conclusion that both Gide and Hull are Orientalsits, and work to reinforce the preceding prejudices that were created by the Westerners to maintain their superiority.