47 pages • 1 hour read
Against the Loveless World
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Themes
Resistance in the Face of Occupation and Oppression
Content Warning: This section of the guide contains discussions of the source text’s depictions of sexual exploitation, anti-gay bias, and political violence.
The novel explores the theme of resistance in the face of occupation and oppression through Nahr’s journey toward understanding her own Palestinian identity. While Nahr is born and raised in exile, her return to Palestine changes her views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, leading her to become actively involved in the resistance movement.
As a young girl, Palestinian politics shape Nahr even from her birth. She is born abroad in Kuwait because her family had to flee Palestine as refugees. Growing up, Nahr faces discrimination for her Palestinian roots, but she is initially unable to connect as strongly with her Palestinian heritage the way her mother and grandmother do. When Jehad first tells her of her right to return to Palestine, Nahr even asks him whether it is worth it to go back. However, when Nahr arrives in Palestine for the first time, she starts to experience what life is like for Palestinians under occupation. Israeli citizens have freedom of movement, while Palestinians are subject to rules and regulations that restrict where they can travel: As Nahr observes, “It shocked me how many checkpoints there were just to go from one village to the next” (158). She faces discrimination at the border when the guards refuse to recognize her citizenship and instead give her a temporary tourist visa.
While Nahr is at first ambivalent about the idea of resistance movements, her experiences in Palestine change her views. After witnessing an attack by the Israeli army during a harvest, Nahr embraces the idea that only active resistance will help the Palestinians. She joins Bilal’s resistance cell, and for the first time, she experiences a sense of belonging and cohesion after her many years abroad in exile. She continues to maintain her commitment to resistance during her 16 years of incarceration in an Israeli prison, despite the solitary and often challenging conditions of her life in “the Cube” (See: Symbols & Motifs). Nahr also openly argues with the Israeli journalists and aid workers who visit her during her imprisonment, as she hopes to counter their stereotypical views of Palestinians.
Nahr’s experiences in prison do not undermine her resolve; instead, she emerges from her imprisonment still sure of her convictions and without any regrets. Although she is reunited with her mother in Jordan upon her release, the novel’s open ending suggests that a return to Palestine may be in Nahr’s future: Bilal smuggles a message to her arranging for a reunion, which implies that she and Bilal might undertake more work in the Palestinian resistance once they reunite.
The Impact of Displacement and Diaspora
The impact of displacement and diaspora on Palestinian individuals, families, and communities is one of the novel’s most important themes. Against the Loveless World examines displacement and diaspora through its depiction of historical events like the Nakba and Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait (See: Background), exploring how these events affect Palestinians like Nahr, who were born in exile.
Both Nahr’s maternal and paternal sides of the family lost property during the Nakba in 1948, “right down to their furniture, books, and bank accounts” (12). Their lives as refugees are difficult: They face discrimination in Kuwait, and Nahr’s parents’ marriage fractures under the strain of her mother and father having to live in two separate places for so long. The geopolitical instability in the Middle East also continues to impact the lives of Nahr and her family. Saddam Hussein’s invasion destabilizes Kuwait and Palestinians are blamed for their leader’s support of the Iraqi president, which further increases the family’s sense of rootlessness and isolation.
However, displacement becomes a source of both trauma and strength for some of the characters. Individuals who have already been refugees are resilient when facing further displacement. When the family resettles in Jordan, Nahr observes that her mother and grandmother adjust with more ease than she does. For Nahr, who is used to living in only one place, exile to Jordan is a rupture. This dual experience of what it means to be Palestinian puts a strain on families: Each generation feels distant from the other. Nahr’s mother and grandmother feel strongly that they are Palestinian, whereas Nahr has to develop a sense of Palestinian identity gradually and in her own way. As a young girl, her sense of identity is fractured: She feels attracted to Palestinian culture through her love of dance, but she also has no firsthand connections to Palestine itself. When she first hears of the opportunity to return to Palestine, she at first isn’t even sure if she wants to go.
Nahr finally does develop a stronger sense of her Palestinian identity when she returns to Palestine. As she gets to know Bilal and his group of resistance fighters, she feels a sense of belonging that she never experienced before. Eventually, she becomes active in the resistance movement herself, signaling her total commitment to Palestine. Through Nahr’s character arc, Against the Loveless World explores how identity is something that can be reshaped and renegotiated throughout one’s life, especially for those who are part of a diasporic community.
The Complexities of Sexuality and Women’s Autonomy
The novel explores the worlds of marriage and sex work, examining how various experiences impact a woman’s sexuality and sense of autonomy. Throughout her experiences in both Kuwait and Palestine, Nahr must learn to navigate the complexities of being a woman in a patriarchal society.
Nahr’s first experience of marriage is a disillusioning one. She marries while still in her late teens, and her husband Mhammad remains emotionally distant and struggles to establish sexual intimacy with her. Mhammad abandons Nahr when she is 19, leaving her to face the stigma of being a rejected wife. While everyone blames Nahr for the fact that Mhammad abandoned her, Nahr later discovers from Bilal that Mhammad is gay: Thus, both Mhammad and Nahr struggle to assert themselves in a society that discriminates against both female autonomy and queer identities. What Nahr learns from her first marriage is that women cede all of their autonomy and power to their husbands, but that they will also be held solely responsible if the marriage fails.
Nahr also navigates complex sexual experiences when she turns to sex work under Um Buraq’s encouragement. While Nahr initially feels ashamed and conflicted about sex work, Um Buraq does not see sex work as inherently exploitative toward women. She, too, was disempowered and mistreated in her marriage, and her reaction to that experience was to question the entire system that places women in a subservient position. After meeting Um Buraq, Nahr begins to think more critically about gender roles, admitting, “Until I met Um Buraq, it had never occurred to me that the patriarchy was anything other than the natural order of life” (48). Um Buraq views sex work as a way to upset the dominance of the patriarchy. From Um Buraq, Nahr learns that it is possible to exploit men, to rob them and steal their banking information, to use them for their social and political influence, and to extract whatever value from them that she can.
Nahr ultimately learns to define both her sexuality and her autonomy on her own terms. When Palestinians and Israelis try to shame her for her past as a sex worker, Nahr stands up for herself, asserting that not all women have the economic privilege of choice and that there is nothing shameful in undertaking sex work to support oneself and survive. With Balil, she also achieves another chance at marriage: Balil accepts her as his equal and refuses to judge her for her sex work, offering her a loving, companionate marriage. By the novel’s end, Nahr has taken control of her sexuality, living and loving freely.
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