Orientalism and Three British Dames: De-essentialization of the Other in the Work of Gertrude Bell, Freya Stark, and E.S. Drower
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1226&context=masters

 A Thesis Submitted to The Faculty of the School of Communication 
In Candidacy for the Degree of Master of Arts in English

 By Lynn Massie Sawyer

Abstract 
Although postcolonial criticism has run its course for thirty years, a fresh look at Edward Said’s Orientalism offers insight into how Orientalism functions in the writings of three British dames. Gertrude Bell in The Desert and the Sown, Freya Stark in The Southern Gates of Arabia, and E.S. Drower in The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran, however, challenge Said’s theory. Their writing raises questions about how gender alters the discourse about the Other, and whether Said essentializes the Occident. Bell, Stark, and Drower serve as case studies in which to analyze the politically and rhetorically complex interactions between the West and the East at the end of the Colonial period. Over time, these women moved from approaching the Other with superior attitudes and a focus on otherness to developing a sympathetic understanding and greater appreciation of the similarities between the West and the East. Key Words: Said, Bell, Stark, Drower, Orientalism, Other, Postcolonialism