What Is The Self-Worth In Woman At Point Zero

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Throughout Woman at Point Zero, Nawal El Saadawi presents Firdaus to be on the ongoing search to increase and justify her self-worth. Firdaus learns how to attain her self-worth in different ways from different people, however each contributor of self-worth was dependent on money. Firdaus discovers the value of education from her uncle, appearance from Sharifa and her most profound moment on her own. Throughout Firdaus’ life her uncle’s money allows for education, her solicited money affords an upper class disguise but the ultimate distinction of her self-worth occurs when she finally overcomes that value of money. El Saadawi highlights the fact that education requires money to attain and is required to obtain money thereafter. For this reason, education is the initial prompt in Firdaus’ self-worth Education increases Firdaus’ social and self-worth by theoretically allowing her to make money working, giving her opportunity for independence. After being repeatedly beaten by her husband Sheikh Mahmoud, Firdaus leaves him and nearly ends up on the streets; she is then taken in by Bayoumi a coffee shop owner who promises to find her a job. After several weeks Firdaus impatiently tells Bayoumi “I have a secondary certificate and I want to work”. In the context of when a woman’s “duty was perfect obedience”, this sentence completely juxtaposes the expected attitude and behaviour of a relationship between a man and a woman. The repeated independent pronoun “I” in “I have… I want” reflects that Firdaus feels worthy of independence; The verb “want” makes it appear that this is something that Firdaus believes she is entitled to and worthy of. Between the two fractions of the compound sentence

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