The poetics and politics of the feminist critical dystopia : a reading of the water cure and before she sleeps

الملخص EN

The present article investigates the poetics and politics of the new canon feminist critical dystopia and addresses its potential for creating a space for activism and rebellion in The Water Cure and Before She Sleeps.

Accordingly, the works sheds light on the issue of female oppression in enclosed patriarchal societies and highlights the possibility of escape from the dystopian nightmare.

Thus, the paper relies on feminist criticism to analyze the various methods of female objectification as depicted in the novels under study, namely: confinement, surveillance, and sexual dominion.

The article hypothesises that the dystopian atmosphere assists writers in creating an authentic image of the gender-biased attitudes and their impact on women, as well as, it proves that women writers of dystopia contribute, positively, in fighting against female oppression begot by patriarchal norms.