Women’s Pathos across Cultures: Imprisonment and Death in Nawal El Saadawi’s Woman at Point Zero and Sylvia Plath’s Ariel

ABSTRACT This paper explores the motifs of confinement and mortality as depicted in Nawal El Saadawi’s Woman at Point Zero and Sylvia Plath’s Ariel, emphasizing the deep emotional turmoil experienced by women from various cultural backgrounds. Both authors portray the notion of imprisonment not solely as a physical location but as a mental condition that reflects the limitations imposed by patriarchal systems. El Saadawi’s narrative is informed by her firsthand experiences as a psychiatrist in an Egyptian women’s prison, centering on Firdaus, a death row prisoner whose existence epitomizes the severe challenges encountered by women. Conversely, Plath articulates her personal struggles with mental health and societal pressures through confessional poetry, culminating in Ariel, a collection that captures the conflict between freedom and self-destruction. By examining the intertwined lives of these two women, the article investigates universal feminist themes of confinement, resilience, and the pursuit of independence. It posits that both El Saadawi and Plath reframe death as a means of empowerment, ultimately transforming the narrative of female suffering into a powerful assertion of self-identity. Through their literary contributions, they confront the dominant narratives surrounding women’s oppression, providing a nuanced perspective on the intricacies of women’s experiences within their respective cultural frameworks.