Displacements

Abstract

“Displacements” centers on Amat al-Latif’s endeavor to remake her world with her second husband in Beirut and Amman where they raised their three children. However, a couple of decades after having suffered grievous loss her life became overshadowed by her husband’s marriage to another woman. This part of the book includes her account of her mental torment and conflicting emotions after being confronted with a fait accompli she had dreaded all her life. It also deals with her children’s subject-positions vis-à-vis their father’s taking a second wife. Their mother’s narrative negotiates the disparities between men’s and women’s ethical reasoning and practice, offering insights into the gender dynamic of multiple concurrent marriages. In the United States, where the family settled at last, Amat al-Latif also had to endure her beloved full-brother’s terminal illness.