Trauma in Randa Jarrar’s A Map of Home

This study examines the intersectionality within Randa Jarrar’s A Map of Home, analyzing the interplay of gender, religion, and diaspora in shaping the female protagonist’s experiences of trauma. The narrative challenges Western perceptions of the Arab Muslim woman’s oppression by exposing the compounded effect of sexism, patriarchal interpretations of Islam, and displacement, intertwined with intergenerational trauma rooted in the protagonist’s father’s Nakba exile. The novel critiques colonialism and imperialism as root causes of Palestinian displacement, reimagining home as a paradoxical space of presence and absence defined by loss. Rather than critiquing Islam as a religion, the narrative interrogates culturally specific, literalist interpretations of Islamic norms—such as those governing female sexuality and autonomy—particularly as they are refracted through diasporic nostalgia and patriarchal family structures. Through an intersectional lens, Jarrar interrogates how diaspora perpetuates these misreadings, offering an internal critique without falling into the trap of Orientalism.