Our heroine spent years searching for independence, whether it was financial, or emotional, or independence of power from under the society's ill-practices, trying to live a dignified life in an oppressive society. Giving up her practices, and moving on to a desk job, moved her closer to the spectrum of respectability, as society sees fit, yet she was asserting herself back under a male dominated scene, filled with unprofessional harassment.

Although through prostitution she gained financial independence, she couldn't uphold the respect that she was looking for. Reflecting the sociocultural reality, as it carries huge power assertion on the society, willingly or oppressively.įurthermore, Firdaus is faced with a continuous dilemma of gaining independence and respect. Yet, the rise of our heroine can only be brought back down, through patriarchal dominance. Sharifa changes the concept of power and dominance for Firdaus as she brings her insight of the female capabilities, empowering Firdaus through them, for the first time during the novel. Everything changes for Firdaus when she meets an unconventional young woman who would empower her, by prevailing the true power women behold. The 70s society played a huge role in administrating patriarchal dominance, where women were victims, although not seen as one. Leading to Firdaus's unwanted marriage that mainly constructed of obedience of the wife, accepting the abuse that came her way, silently and oppressively. A foreshadow of the main character's adulthood and the reality that most women suffer through during the 70s and 80s. These scenes can only been seen through a predictive measure of what Firdaus's future would suffer. Firdaus has always seen male figures around her dominating the female figures, whether the abuse her mother suffered form Firdaus's father, or whether the dominance Firdau's uncle exerted on her during her upbringing. The nature of power and dominance took a major part of the text. Analyzing the novel on a deeper level, taking the reader through different themes, that the novel circulated around.

The woman at point zero