Postcolonial Condition: Remembering to Resist or Forgetting to Persist in Ahlem Mosteghanemi’s The Bridges of Constantine

Abstract

Ahlem Mosteghanemi ’s Dhakirat Al- jasad (1993), The Bridges of Constantine (2013), is a text that artistically and profoundly tackles the rising sense of despair and disillusionment permeating the newly independent Algeria. Without a doubt, what accounts for its success is the depiction of one of the most critical chapters in the history of Algeria, for the first time written in Arabic by a woman. Mostaghanemi successfully breaks the shackles of a French language that chained Algerians novelists even after years of liberation. The story depicts the Algerians’ struggle against the harsh French colonialism and its lasting manifestations. Khalid, the protagonist, is a warrior and later a painter who resorts to exile so as not to compromise and conform to the corrupt life Algerians maintain after independence. Unconventionally, Khalid leaves for France carrying with him a beautiful image of home and a lovely memory of a pristine past time. In exile, however, Khalid experiences an array of confronting emotions that leads him to a serious stage of puzzlement and emotional upset. This paper explores the theme of Nostalgia in The Bridges of Constantine in light of the degrading Algerian community after independence.