Finding Identity: The Invisible Arab Woman in “Crescent”
By: Heather Weisse

In an increasingly fragmented American society, all women are struggling to define (or redefine) their roles and identities. This struggle has become progressively more difficult for Arab-American women, who find themselves torn between cultural tradition and American modernity. The individual identity of each of these women is often ignored by American society at-large, which results in unfair stereotyping that forces the Arab-American women into a seemingly invisible existence. Diana Abu-Jaber explores the pursuit for identity of three Arab-American women in her book, Crescent. Sirine, Um-Nadia and Rana are three fiercely different women who are all lumped into the same category of “Arab-American female” by the American public. While evaluated by society on the basis of appearance, occupation, relationships, and spirituality, each of these women attempt to define herself by the same criteria. By juxtaposing each woman’s quest to balance modernity and tradition, Abu-Jaber exposes American stereotypes and the Arab-American woman’s individual struggle to navigate her own sense of doubleness.

What does it mean to an Arab-American woman? The answer is complex, abstract and unclear. Through Sirine, Um-Nadia and Rana, Diana Abu-Jaber gives the reader a ménage of different pursuits for identity. In the end, all of the characters still struggle to define themselves completely, but are able to hold on to portions of their identities- - their faith, their relationships, their inner sense of self or even something as simple as their food. Identity is the constant search for pieces of a whole. As the circumstances of one’s life changes, his or her identity changes. Abu-Jaber has shown that because Arab-American woman must constantly search for identity, stereotypes are unfounded and generally lead to the marginalization or complete invisibility of these women. Erasing the stereotypes will not erase the struggle to connect traditional culture with modernity- - merely recognize such strain and empower besieged Arab-American women.

-back-