"The Women's Bath" Review

The Women’s Bath was written by Ulfat al-Idlibi, a feminist born in Damascus. This short story depicts the existing conflicts of a family along the transition from the Syrian into the Arabic culture in three subsequent generations of women, the grandmother, the mother and the daughter.

The story takes place in two settings: the family house where the Arabic culture seems to limit women's thoughts and wishes, and at the Public Bath, a place where women revive and reaffirm old traditions that have always been a way of making them feel beautiful and valued under the wishes of God. There, the old generations have their self-esteem strengthened while at home they are losing their space.

In this opportunity, the author uses the technics of description and imagery that takes the reader into a cultural moment that has been fading in time.

Authorship: Circe Aguiar