Walker 1 The Novel Guests of the Sheik was published in 1965 It was written by Elizabeth Fernea who is a scholar of women s studies in the Middle East Her journey begins in a remote Shiite village in southern Iraq to accompany her husband while he was pursuing a doctorate in anthropology The book begins by detailing the newlyweds journey to the village where they will be living while Fernea s husband Bob performs field research Initially it speaks of her misgivings about being an outsider entering an unfamiliar environment and even shows a bit of resentment for beginning her marriage in a two room mud hut with no plumbing This book is different from many other novels in that Fernea s unbiased style makes a clear and accurate representation of natives in this Iraqi village The way she managed to be loved and respected by the very conservative community is a testament to her uneditorialized writing 1 Beeja as the women of the village called her describes her sufferings at her arrival to the village at the opening of the book She initially refused but later realized that she had no choice but to wear the abaya as all the women of El Nahra did She struggled with loneliness while her husband was with men or working since no one was interested in visiting this foreigner She expresses feelings of weakness and invisibility in the society The other women eventually felt pity towards her because she had no children she was thin and could not cook rice 2 She was forced to adjust many of her American ideals and behaviors in order to be able to participate with the women of the village fully Among the traditions wearing the veil became a necessity She was shocked that her American ways of life were not approved by women in this village just one of many examples of how the east and west misunderstood one another Every thought had to be second guessed and every word carefully calculated At her upset mood Fernea says I would not have believed that I could be so upset at being accused of laziness and incompetence by a group 1 Elizabeth Fernea 1965 p 1 2 IBID p 78 of illiterate tribal ladies 3 This is the motive she has to stay alone and to think of what else she must know to be accepted by these women not only as a human being but as an equal Walker 2 Not only the practical difficulties of continuing the visiting and maintaining good relations bothered me It had now become important to me to be accepted by these people as a woman and as a human being And tonight when I had thought success was near the evening had turned into a fiasco I was indignant first and told myself they were nothing but a group of curiosity seekers Then I began to feel righteous After all they had insulted me by refusing my tea spitting out my food and telling me I was lazy and a bad cook I felt hurt They did not find me sympathetic or interesting or even human but only amusing as performing a member of another species I tried to feel tragic superior and ironic above it all but failed utterly and wept again 4 The segregation of sexes had a severe effect on Fernea for a long time after her arrival but as she understood more and more of the societal codes she learned to abide by those role Over time she accepted and integrated this into her daily living and even because convinced of it as she was accepted into the harem We know that Elizabeth Fernea and her husband were the guests of the local Sheik and lived in his guesthouse for almost two years She teaches us about many obstacles they faced in the beginning and how she overcame those handicaps Fernea did this by learning the language and building positive rapport with the women in the village She was really only able to get information from her husband and Mohammed the servant who was the only male she could speak with freely There is great detail given about many of the women with whom she interacts including Laila and Sherifa They taught her a lot about how she should wear the veil and cook 3 IBID p 77 4 IBID p 77 Walker 3 rice Selma Aziza and many others showed her how to be a good wife for her husband and how to behave around guests according to the Iraqi tradition 5 Over the course of the first year or so Fernea won the respect of the Harem and she was welcomed into the inner circle of women there She was able to participate with the women in their conversations and visited other women in the village She was invited to weddings feast days and participated fully in all of the villages rituals and rites of passage despite the fact that they are celebrated very differently than in the west When she went with some women to the Shiite holy place her writing clearly shows her astonishment and admiration at her newly discovered culture 6 There arise many situations where she feels challenged and needs to prove herself and her ability not only to the other women but to all the people of the village When the Sheik came to dine with them her role in all aspects was tested This test revealed that Ferna no longer protested the rituals of the village but embraced them since they were now ordinary for her as she knew why they are held She no longer believed the abaya and veil handicapped them or controlled their mobility it was their protection Fernea with time discovers the societal norms of that community and becomes sure of how to deal with those things bridging the gap of misunderstanding between east and west 7 This ethnography gives westerners a unique insight the Middle East that we seldom see or hear about in a positive or even unbiased light The women in this novel have no outward role in society and to an outsider are subservient repressed and weak After reading this we learn that the role of these women is indeed vibrant and influential and their thoughts and ideas play a major part in shaping the new Middle East 8 These women lead lives very different from our own and we may never fully understand but the author is quite effective in dispelling the myth that 5 IBID p 68 6 IBID p 107 7 IBID p 122 8 Muhsin Mahdi Guests of the Sheik Front page women who wear the abaya must be weak and passive She shows us that they as a whole are satisfied and capable of change if they will it The greatest lesson however is the one that breaks down the cultural barriers and shows us that on the inside we are all the same and only want to be happy do good for those we love and have good people in our lives to call friends 9 Walker 4 Palace Walk is set …