Madman Who Does Not Love Me”: The Portrayal of Men in the Work of Emirati Poet Maysoon Saqr

Abstract

In women's literature, whether poetry or prose, portrayals of women and portrayals of men are central themes. Feminist writers have adopted attacks on men as a means of defence, and those attacks can take on an overtly hostile character.

Men are often depicted as mad, sexually impotent, bestial predatory upon women, clownish, traitorous, and mendacious.

This study aims to elucidate the manifestations of these negative characterizations and the way they are manifested in Emirati poet Maysoon Saqr's collection, A Madman Who Does Not Love Me.

The conclusions drawn point to these characterizations being a reflection of a patriarchal system and a negative social praxis in which religion and customs conspire to constrict the freedom and creativity of women, notably married ones.