Genre
Memoir
Setting and Context
The book is set in 1900 written in the context of Isabelle's life journey.
Narrator and Point of View
First-person narrative
Tone and Mood
Adventurers, optimistic, daring
Protagonist and Antagonist
Isabelle is the protagonist of the story.
Major Conflict
The main conflict is that Eberhardt believes in the Quran, but she intentionally goes against it because she is engaged in multiple sexual affairs with men without marrying them.
Climax
The climax is when Isabelle disguises herself as a man and gets the freedom to do whatever she wishes without being questioned.
Foreshadowing
The narrator’s ability to speak multiple languages foreshadowed her flexibility in the new areas she visited in Africa.
Understatement
The statement that Isabelle disguised herself as a man to get the freedom of doing whatever she wanted is an understatement. The Quran also limits what a man can do, and it does not allow having multiple sexual affairs without marriage.
Allusions
The story alludes to adventure and exploration.
Imagery
The images of the desert where the narrator explores are rampant throughout the text. Isabelle rides camels and sometimes walks alongside them in the desert. The desert imagery depicts sight.
Paradox
The main paradox is that the Quran in the Arab world does not limit men, but women are curtailed to adhere to every law. Therefore, Isabelle decides to disguise herself as a man to have freedom and have multiple sexual affairs.
Parallelism
Isabelle’s disguising parallels the misogynistic beliefs practiced in the Arabic traditions.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
The Quran is personified as an unfair judge that favors men but oppresses women.
