Metaphors, Creative Representation, and Self

Abstract

The present study investigates conceptual metaphors (CM) and raises a series of questions relevant to the study of literary texts by contemporary Arab women writers; what do the CMs identified in such texts tell us about women’s thoughts? Do such CMs structure Arab women’s thoughts? How do socio-cultural forces determine it? The present paper attempts to argue these questions by means of a semiotic analysis focused on the writings of three well-known contemporary Arab writers. The paper takes nine short stories by prominent Arabic women writers to understand the creative negotiation of their identity and social space. Through the semiotic reading of these stories, the use of various conceptual metaphors by the writers will also be discussed to understand their identification of self in the Arabic social structure.