Sacrifice in women's writing often revolves around two different definitions of the word. The first definition is to voluntarily give up something of value, while the second definition is to offer or kill, often in a ceremonial manner. Women's writing has a recurring motif of sacrifice in which female characters are the subject of a sacrifice or sacrifice something of their own, and in both cases these sacrifices are usually overseen or ordered by men for the benefit of men. What differs, however, is the nature of women's sacrifice, and this difference often depends on their individual circumstances, circumstances that create different environments and practices for the treatment of women. In Clear Light of Day by Anita Desai, for example, the middle-class Indian Bimla Das partially sacrifices her autonomy to take care of her autistic brother. In contrast, in Ahdaf Soueif's Aisha the lower-class Egyptian Zeina is sacrificed through the practice of early marriage. These two texts show that the nature of a woman's sacrifice depends on her individual circumstances. This essay will argue that Clear Light of Day and Aisha exemplify how an individual's life circumstances change the meaning of sacrifice in relation to women, noting how Bim of a Clear Light of Day willingly chooses to participate in her sacrifice while Zeina of Aisha, because of the community he is a part of, he has no such choice. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Judith Butler writes, "By conforming to the requirement of representative politics that feminism articulate a stable argument, feminism thus opens itself to charges of gross misrepresentation."[1] Butler is speaking to the question of intersectionality and how feminism, ignoring intersectionality, disenfranchises large numbers of women. The idea of ​​a “universal woman,” the supposed “stable subject” of feminism, is ridiculous. Butler criticizes feminists who fail to see the ways in which issues of class, race, sexuality, disability, and religion overlap with the issue of sexism. There is no “universal woman,” but rather a range of women whose circumstances are different and who deal with sexism in different ways. Virginia Woolf's feminist essay A Room of One's Own is most likely of little importance to a member of India's Dalit caste, or "untouchables," for Woolf writes to a universal woman who is like her: white, middle class, and intellectually interested . . If we are to write about how women sacrifice themselves or are sacrificed, we must recognize that the degree of sacrifice will vary depending on the woman's circumstances. An upper-class woman in England may not sacrifice less than her lower-class counterpart, but what she sacrifices will still depend on her class. The same can be said when referring to the nation, the lower class women of England sacrifice themselves differently than the lower class women of Egypt. Comparing the meaning of sacrifice in Clear Light of Day and Aisha therefore means cross-examining the differences in the women's individual circumstances. The Das family of Clear Light of Day is presented by Desai as people living on the edge of middle-class affluence. Bim, the eldest of four siblings, works as a school teacher to provide for herself and her autistic brother Baba and they now live in their now dilapidated family home. During his childhood Bim showed vitality for life, interest in poetry and sports and admired historically strong female figures:“Bim obviously worshiped Florence Nightingale alongside Joan of Arc in his private pantheon of saints and goddesses.”[2] Although her life is not as full of noteworthy events as Nightingale's or Joan of Arc's, Bim is shown to dream of becoming an independent heroine just like them. This dream, however, is sacrificed due to the bigger and more aggressive dreams of his brother Raja. Raja dreams of living a life outside of his family which, as he grows up, he comes to see as increasingly dysfunctional and withdrawn: 'He felt there couldn't be a sadder house like his, dusty, dirty and charmless. Surely no family could contain as many illnesses as his. [Desai, pp. 49] Raja aspires instead to a world of poetry and intellectual interest, his life directed 'toward society, companionship, applause; towards colour, song, charm.' [Desai, pp. 49] When Raja leaves the Das family to live in Hyderabad, and with his parents and aunt already dead, Bim must become the head of the family and as such abandons his dreams of living independently of his family. Bim is, according to Elaine Yee Lin Ho, representative of a cliché in Desai's works of women who "have accepted the routine of domestic life in a familial and cultural situation where other choices do not seem available or the opportunity to seek them does not present itself" . .[3] Bim's sacrifice of his independence can be read as a consciously altruistic act. Dr Biswas, the family doctor who takes care of Raja while he is ill, tells Bim: "You have dedicated your life to others: to your sick brother, to your elderly aunt and to your little brother who will depend on you throughout life". You sacrificed your life for them.' [Desai, pp. 97] But despite the selflessness of her actions, Bim resents Raja for making her sacrifice her life so that she could live as she wishes and Baba has someone to take care of him. Although Bim sacrifices her dreams of heroine grandeur and fame she is never faced with the danger of being homeless, starving, or living a truly miserable existence. Her house is guaranteed to her when Raja becomes the owner and landlord of the property, writing to Bim in a letter that "you can continue to have it at the same rent, I will never think of increasing it or selling the house as long as you and Baba have it need.' [Desai, pp. 27] Indeed, Bim's chief complaint in life is not that he has never lived a heroic life like that of Florence Nightingale or Joan of Arc, but rather that he depends on his brother's charity for a house and then sees herself pitied by Raja. Tara begs Bim to join her in coming to Raja's daughter's wedding, Bim says "How can I enter her house, my landlord's house? Me, such a poor tenant? Because of me he can't raise the rent or sell the house and make a profit, imagine the sacrifice!' [Desai, pp. 29] Bim interprets Raja's promise that she and Baba will be safe as an insult to her sacrifice, insensitive towards her considering the fact that she has given up her life to take care of Baba she fails to see honor in his sacrifice. He sees his abandonment of his ambition for heroism as a failure on his part and a consequence of Raja's selfishness rather than an example of a selfless and caring personality. Jenni Valjento writes that the "martyr's claim Bim's home and responsibility [are] the distinctive components of his personality." Bim sees living as a martyr for his brother as a disgrace, displaying a torn mentality while he is capable of living altruistically to help his family, but is unable able to respect or appreciate this altruism. Perhaps Bim's perception of himselfherself as a wasted martyr for her brother's aspirations comes from the fact that she had the aspiration and potential to lead a successful life. Guaranteed a stable and secure life thanks to the fact that Raja owns the house and his job, Bim sacrifices his high aspirations of heroism knowing that he will never be able to do without it. Her socio-economic status allows her to make the altruistic sacrifice, it is simply her misconception of her sacrifice that prevents her from living a happy and fulfilled life. While Bim knowingly, albeit bitterly, sacrifices her independence knowing full well that she will never live a life devoid of anything other than said independence, Zeina in Aisha is unintentionally sacrificed. Zeina, the nurse of the main character Aisha, at the age of fifteen, marries her nineteen-year-old cousin and the marriage is shown to depersonalize Zeina as a person in her own right. In the marriage Zeina seems secondary to her husband. When her grandmother describes what marriage will mean to her, Zeina is told, "You will be his wife and he will be your husband and you will serve him and do what he tells you."[5] The tone in which this is said and the absoluteness of the statement shows that Zeina, only a teenager at the time who later admits that she "knew nothing about marriage", has no choice in the matter. [Soueif, pp. 85] Zeina has already had her independence taken away, unlike Bim who willingly gives it up. Zeina shows very little concern about the wedding, instead allowing herself to be enveloped by the romance of the wedding and the supposed glamor of the ceremony. She says that "my wedding casket had been ready for years" and, since she was only fifteen years old at the time, this shows how Zeina's whole life, the little that has been there so far, has been preparing for the moment of her wedding. marriage. However, the romance of the wedding ceremony is soon undone by what resembles a sacrificial ceremony centered on Zeina's virginity. Zeina recounts the involvement of a Mashta, who Zeina describes as "the woman who comes to adorn the bride." [Soueif, pp. 86] Zeina prepares for the wedding ceremony by having her body shaved in order to make her more sexually attractive to her husband: 'The hair on your legs and body, to make you beautiful and smooth for the groom.' [Soueif, pp. 87 ] Zeina describes the process as horrible and painful, saying that 'I started to get up but they held me down and the Mashta kept spreading the paste and tearing it while I cried and screamed until I was completely clean' [Soueif, pp. Zeina, who previously considered marriage exciting and romantic, is clearly not the subject of marriage at all about her marrying for her own sake, but rather about satisfying her husband's needs this presentation of cruelty and barbarity as Zeina's virginity is tested: “I lay there, writhing and crying heavily as he knelt down and pushed his bandaged finger into me, twisting it in and out as I screamed and screamed. Finally he took it out. The bandage was soaked in blood.' [Soueif, pp. 91 – 92]This whole sacrificial scene is normalized in Zeina's story as if it were completely ordinary. Zeina is presented as lower class through her work as a nurse at Aisha, as well as through the family business she inherited from her husband: "He was a butcher like his father." [Soueif, pp. 85] Later he almost seems to think back to the scene with nostalgia. “They told me to undress and I was so shy,” Zeina said, laughing.' [Soueif, pp. 87] The fact that she laughs when remembering how she was cruelly humiliated during the waxing of the Mashta suggests that she feels naive at the time; undermines itown shyness, apprehension and fear. Her protests, her demonstrations of independence or separation from marriage, are rejected by her aunt: "Come on, Zeina, don't be a spoiled child." Protesting an unwanted marriage and standing up for oneself is considered "spoiled", thus suggesting that a grateful child, or someone who is aware of their place, should accept the marriage and be grateful for it. Zeina's story shows that symbolic sacrifice through a violent marriage ceremony is a normal thing within her community, that of lower-class rural Egyptians. She shows little awareness that she lacked complete autonomy during the trial and that her life is defined by her husband. Zeina's circumstances, drastically different and considerably harsher than Bim's, do not put her in the position to make sacrifices, but rather to just be the sacrifice. Although Clear Light of Day and Aisha demonstrate that a woman's individual circumstances are integral factors in the nature of the sacrifice she will make or be made of, both texts also show that sacrifice permeates women's lives despite issues of intersectionality . Because sacrifice is a constant factor in their lives, women are not only the objects of sacrifice, but are often instigators or participants in it. The French philosopher Simone de Beauvoir writes that «patriarchal society, for example, being centered on the management of assets, necessarily implies, alongside those who possess and transmit wealth, the existence of men and women who take property away from its owners and put it into circulation.'[6] In writing 'men and women' Beauvoir recognizes how women, just like men, are integral to the continuation of patriarchal processes, and sacrifice is no exception. However, even when women are not the objects of sacrifice, intersectionality plays a role in how they relate to it. Tara, Bim's younger sister, is presented as more stereotypically feminine, meek and unambitious than her sister: "Tara didn't tell her that she hoped she never had to do anything in the world, that she just wanted to hide under the quilt of Aunt Mira or behind the shrubs in the garden and never being asked to go out and do something, prove that she is something [Desai, pp. 126] Tara has no ambition or dream in the world other than to escape her life in the Old Dehli and succeeds by marrying Bakul who becomes a foreign diplomat. By marrying, just like Raja, Tara leaves Bim to take care of Bakul and is therefore just as implicit in making Bim's sacrifice of his ambition as Raja As can be seen in Zeina's wedding ceremony, women are involved in even the most brutal elements of symbolic female sacrifice. The women Zeina trusts, her aunt and grandmother, are involved in the humiliating act of Mashta's waxing: "I held on. to my grandmother, but she lifted my gown and my aunt took it off." [Soueif, pp. 87] They are then involved in the even more cruel marriage ceremony together with other women: 'Suddenly four women surrounded me and dragged me to the ground. One held my shoulders while the other held my waist and my aunt and grandmother took off my underwear.' [Soueif, pp. 91] As Amin Malak writes, Zeina is 'shocked by the violence and force used by the women of the family present in the bridal chamber to help the groom penetrate her with his bandaged finger so that the blood-soaked bandage can be removed. exhibited as a sign of the bride's virginity'.[7] It is clear that women are active in making other women's sacrifices necessary and in taking part in women's sacrifice, but once again differences in. 142