Dreams of Trespass

"Dreams of Trespass" was written by Fatima Mernissi. Fatima is a feminist writer and sociologist from Morocco. She writes about growing up in a family harem in Fez, Morocco in the 1940's. They live in a traditional harem set in Fez with her parents, siblings, uncle and aunt, cousins and her paternal grandmother. The opinions vary greatly amidst the harem occupants. Her grandmother is very much a traditionalist and strictly adheres to harem rules. Her mother rebels against the rules quite often and hates the restrictions and lack of privacy.

Fatima http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatima_Mernissi talks about 2 different types of harems in Morocco. One is the traditional in which she lives with her family. The other type is a more open and modern type harem in which the women do have a little more freedom by living on a farm. This farm harem is where Fatima's mother was raised and lived before she was married.

Harem life is very restricting and all decisions are made by the men living in the household. The women are kept locked behind gates to "protect" them as the men tell them. They are not even allowed to go shopping for cloth and must depend on the male the call the "gatekeeper" to buy the things they need. The gatekeeper has the key to the gate that keeps the women locked inside the harem. Even the meals are segregated with the men eating at the head table. The women are seated at the second table with the kids sitting at the third table. The last table is reserved for those who come in late for any meal regardless of their stature.

At the end of the story she is talking to one of the servants about men and women. The servant explains that men don't understand women and women don't understand men and that there is a cosmic frontier in which the powerful walk on one side and the powerless walk on the other side. Fatima asks the servant how she would know what side she is walking on. The servant replys; "If you can't get out, you are on the powerless side." I think this pretty much sums up life in a harem.