The Role of Education and Choice in the Lives of Women in Palace Walk and Mornings in Jenin

This article analyzes the profound role of education in expanding women’s choice, opportunity, and character growth. The novel Palace Walk (1956), which takes place before the 1919 Egyptian Revolution, and the novel Mornings in Jenin (2006), which spans twentieth century Palestine, both highlight how the restriction of education works to limit women’s freedoms and uphold patriarchal values. The threat of occupation is present in both works where it causes male benefactors to either be more rigid in their authority, as a means to preserve the status quo, or cause them to prioritize education as a means to find truth and protect their identity. Through analyzing key scenes in both texts, with insights into historical contexts, it is clear that the restriction of women’s education puts them in vulnerable positions where their legal rights and economic opportunities are diluted, making them subject to dehumanization.