To go, or not to go: The palestinian realities of exile in the works of Sahar Khalifeh

Abstract

Palestinian exile under the Israeli occupation is one of the core themes in Palestinian narratives. Exiles encounter multiple issues like dislocation, fragmentation of identity, separation from the family and psychological anguish in their day-to-day life. Palestinian writers have been engaged in writing extensively on the harrowing experiences of exile. Simultaneously, they have written on the emerging challenges faced by the Palestinians on return to their homeland. This article explores the theme of exile in the narratives of Sahar Khalifeh through an interpretive lens of settler colonial theory. Exile, however is experienced differently by both men and women. Indeed, women's experience of exile and impact of male exile on women has been marginalised in male narratives. The paper brings out how the Palestinian writer Sahar Khalifeh broaches the impact of Palestinian exile on both men and women as a negative and demoralising experience. The paper specifically focuses on women who are the victims of exile and their suffering - from subtle to the more conspicuous. � Universiti Putra Malaysia Press.