An-Najah National University 

Faculty of Graduate Studies 
 

 

 

 

 

 

SHAKESPEAREAN INTERTEXTUALITY IN 

LAYLA AL AMMAR’S SILENCE IS A SENSE 

AND THE PACT WE MADE 
 

 

 

 

 

 

By 

Zeina Izzat Sadiq Zeidan 
 

 

 

 

Supervisors 

Dr. Bilal Hamamrah 

Dr. Ahmad Qabaha 
 

 

 

 

 
 

This Thesis is Submitted in Partial of the Requirements for the Degree of Master 

of Comparative Literature, Faculty of Graduate Studies, An-Najah National 

University, Nablus, Palestine. 

2025 



ii 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

SHAKESPEAREAN INTERTEXTUALITY IN 

LAYLA AL AMMAR’S SILENCE IS A SENSE 

AND THE PACT WE MADE 
 

 

 

By 

Zeina Izzat Sadiq Zeidan 
 

 

This Thesis was defended successfully on 04/03/2025 and approved by: 

 

 



iii 

Dedication 

This thesis is lovingly dedicated to the pillars of my life: 

To my parents, the first people to show me the beauty of dreams and the value of hard 

work. You have sacrificed so much to pave the way for my achievements, and your love 

has always been the guiding light in my life. Thank you for teaching me resilience, 

perseverance, and the power of love. This work is a reflection of everything you’ve 

instilled in me. 

To my husband, my unwavering rock and constant source of encouragement. Your 

boundless patience, unconditional support, and belief in me have been my greatest 

strength throughout this journey. Thank you for standing beside me in my moments of 

doubt, lifting me when I faltered, and reminding me of my worth when I lost sight of it. 

Without your love and reassurance, this would not have been possible. 

To my sisters and brothers, my lifelong companions and confidants. Your laughter, 

wisdom, and encouragement have kept me grounded and inspired. Thank you for being 

my cheerleaders and for believing in me when I struggled to believe in myself. 

To my family-in-law, for embracing me with open arms and showering me with kindness 

and encouragement. Your support has made me feel like I belong to a second home, and 

your faith in me has been a source of motivation throughout this process. 

To my supervisors, Dr. Bilal Hamamrah and Dr Ahmad Qabaha, whose expertise, 

patience, and insightful feedback have been invaluable throughout this journey.  

To my lovely friendly students, whose passion for learning and boundless potential have 

been my greatest source of inspiration—this journey is as much yours as it is mine 

This work is a testament to the love, support, and sacrifices of all of you. I am eternally 

grateful for each of you, and I dedicate this achievement to you with all my heart. 

 

  



iv 

Declaration 

I, the undersigned, declare that I submitted the thesis entitled: 

SHAKESPEAREAN INTERTEXTUALITY IN 

LAYLA AL AMMAR’S SILENCE IS A SENSE 

AND THE PACT WE MADE 
 

 

I declare that the work provided in this thesis, unless otherwise referenced, is the 

researcher’s own work, and has not been submitted elsewhere for any other degree or 

qualification. 

Student's Name Zeina Izzat Sadiq Zeidan 

Signature: Zeina Izzat Zeidan 

Date: 04/03/2025 

 

 

  



v 

Table of Contents 

 

Dedication ........................................................................................................................ iii 

Declaration ....................................................................................................................... iv 

Chapter One: Intoduction and Literature Review ............................................................. 1 

1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1 

1.2. Methodologies of the Study ..................................................................................... 14 

1.3 Literature Review ..................................................................................................... 16 

1.4 Research questions .................................................................................................... 19 

1.5 Aims and objectives .................................................................................................. 19 

1.6 Significance of the Study .......................................................................................... 20 

1.7 Limitations of the Study ........................................................................................... 20 

1.8 Corpus of the Study .................................................................................................. 20 

Chapter Two: Intertextuality to Reveal an Image of Colonization: Ariel, Dahlia, the 

Unknown Narrator ................................................................................................. 22 

2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 22 

2.2 Colonialism as a central theme in Shakespeare's play: The Tempest ....................... 23 

2.3 Intertextuality in English Novelists of Arab Origin: Laila Al Ammar ..................... 24 

2.4 Gender as the focal point of colonial hegemony ...................................................... 26 

2.5 The Pact We Made: Intertextuality with the Colonization of Dahlia's Body ........... 26 

2.6 Silence is a Sense: Colonization of the Unknown Narrator's Mind .......................... 27 

2.7 Investigation of Shakespearean intertextuality in the context of silence .................. 28 

Chapter Three: Intertextuality and Mental Breakdown: Rape Trauma Syndrome ......... 30 

3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 30 

3.2 English Literature's Representation of Post-Rape Trauma ....................................... 30 

3.3 The Theme of Rape Trauma Syndrome in Shakespeare's The Tempest .................. 33 

3.4 Rape Trauma Syndrome in Al-Ammar's Silence is a Sense ..................................... 34 

3.5 In Al-Ammar's The Pact We Made........................................................................... 36 

3.6 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 38 

Chapter Four: Intertextuality Presents Recognition of Self and Emphasizes the Gaze of 

Others and Reputation ........................................................................................... 40 

4.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 40 

4.2 The Concept of Literary Self and Self-Recognition ................................................. 40 

4.3 Self-Awareness and Exploration through Textual Interaction during Literary Reading 

and Writing ............................................................................................................ 42 



vi 

4.4 The Tempest: The Search for the Self and the Realization of Freedom and Identity 

Concepts. ............................................................................................................... 43 

4.5 Self-Recognition in Laila Al-Ammar's novels.......................................................... 46 

4.5.1 Analysis of The Pact We Made ............................................................................. 46 

4.5.2 Analysis of Silence is a Sense ................................................................................ 47 

4.6 Analysis of the textual overlap between The Tempest and Laila Al-Ammar's Novels

 ............................................................................................................................... 48 

4.7 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 49 

4.8 The Gaze of Others and Reputation in Literature ..................................................... 50 

4.9 Gaze of others and reputation in Shakespeare's works ............................................. 51 

4.10 Gaze of others and reputation in The Tempest ....................................................... 51 

4.11 Al-Ammar’s inspiration for reputation and the other’s gaze issues from The 

Tempest: In Silence is a Sense .............................................................................. 52 

4.12 In The Pact We Made ............................................................................................. 54 

4.13 Thesis Conclusion ................................................................................................... 55 

References ....................................................................................................................... 57 

 ب ............................................................................................................................... الملخص 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  



vii 

SHAKESPEAREAN INTERTEXTUALITY IN LAYLA AL 

AMMAR’S SILENCE IS A SENSE AND THE PACT WE MADE 
By 

Zeina Izzat Sadiq Zeidan 

Supervisors 

Dr. Bilal Hamamrah 

Dr. Ahmad Qabaha 

Abstract 

This study focuses on the intertextuality apparent in Laila Al-Ammar's Novels, The Pact 

We Made and Silence is a Sense, specifically analyzing how both novels employ 

Shakespeare's The Tempest. It delves into Laila Al-Ammar's use of literary intertextuality 

to dismantle and question preexisting literary and social standards through 

investigating the character of Ariel, Desdemona, Prospero, and Caliban. Several subjects 

are considered via the perspective of intertextuality theory put out by Julia Kristeva, such 

as: Intertextuality to Reveal an Image of Colonization, Intertextuality Shows Mental 

Breakdown: Rape Trauma Syndrome, Intertextuality Presents Recognition of Self, and 

Intertextuality Emphasizes The Gaze of Others and Reputation. Therefore, to better 

understand the similarities and differences between the characters in Al-Ammar's work 

and those in Shakespeare's, this study takes a qualitative descriptive-analytical approach. 

By delving into the challenges faced by Dahlia and the unnamed narrator in Al-Ammar's 

novels, as well as those in The Tempest, the results show how intertextuality enhances 

novels by critiquing colonialism and social oppression and the psychological effects that 

stem from them. The resulting discussion sheds light on the interaction between the past 

and the present, investigating the agency of women, and tackles cultural and 

psychological trauma. Accordingly, there is a unique understanding of how classical and 

modern narratives interact by filling a gap in our understanding of Shakespeare's 

intertextuality in Arabic literature of the contemporary era. 

Keywords: Intertextuality; Al Ammar; The Tempest; The Pact We Made; Silence is a 

Sense; Shakespeare.  

 

 



1 

Chapter One 

Introduction and Literature Review 

1.1 Introduction 

Recent theoretical developments have revealed that intertextuality and adaption 

significantly affect cultural expression development. Vandal-Sirois and Bastin (2010) in 

their book Intertextuality, Adaptation and Appropriation: Is There a Limit? ensure this 

by stating that: 

Adaptation seems to be part of the process of linguistic transfer of a document, 

created in one source culture and then aimed at another culture, Despite the 

adjustments and modifications, often imposed by the language of the source text 

or deemed necessary by the translator-, an adaptation still shares a very strong 

link to the source text (Bastin, Siriois, & Vandal, 2010, p. 23). 

Adaptation shows how artists engage with established works to create narratives that 

address contemporary concerns. Intertextuality highlights the interconnectedness of 

creative expression. To put it in another way, Alfaro (1996) declares the importance and 

the beauty of using intertextuality and adaptation in her book Intertextuality: Origins and 

Development of the Concept by asserting that: 

There are always other words in a word, other texts in a text. The concept of 

intertextuality requires, therefore, that we understand texts not as self-contained 

systems but as differential and historical, as traces and tracings of otherness, 

since they are shaped by the repetition and transformation of other textual 

structures (Alfaro, 1996, p. 268). 

Scholars have explored adaptation as a creative process. Hutcheon (1988) sees it as 

reinterpreting texts (2006). Stam (2005) re-contextualizes material for new audiences. 

Leitch (2006) finds ideological tensions through dialogic exchange . Julie Sanders (2006) 

regards it as cultural recycling. Adaptive intertextuality allows artistic expression to 

develop through imaginative re-visioning (time and space). 

While intertextuality refers to the original piece of work, adaptation has to do with 

recreating the piece of work to convey a message that the light wasn’t shed on. 

Intertextuality is a dialogic process where texts interact with social, historical, and cultural 



2 

spheres. Intertextuality is important for understanding tradition and innovation in cultural 

expression (Barthes, 1977).  

Litvin & Holderness (2010) have studied how Shakespeare's works are interpreted and 

adapted globally. Litvin's research focuses on how Hamlet has been implanted in the Arab 

world to address current political and cultural issues. She analyzes the creative 

adaptations made by regional writers to explore the dialogic relationship between 

Shakespeare's texts and new iterations (Litvin & Holderness, 2010). Similarly, 

Holderness has studied the connections between Shakespeare's works and Mediterranean 

cultures. He argues that Shakespeare (2014) has become an iconic figure whose works 

are continually adapted. This adaptation wasn’t applied only to one or a few of 

Shakespeare’s plays, rather most of his plays were adapted and intertextualized 

throughout the ages. Shakespeare’s Macbeth is one of the works that was and still goes 

under different processes to deliver different ideas. Dobson & Arnuad (2017) argue how 

“Müller’s translation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth was meant to embody its (second) 

author’s personal opinion about more contemporary times. Translation does not prevent 

the final composition from being an inventive adaptation and the result of a revisited 

reading of the Shakespearean source” (Dobson & Rivier-Arnaud, 2017, p. 1). Thus 

Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet were not excluded from adaptation as expressed by Dobson 

and Arnuad “Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet has been appropriated by the convicts and 

shows how the experiment has become the seed of a cultural revolution which has burst 

both geographical and metaphorical bars” (Dobson & Rivier-Arnaud, 2017, p. 7). 

Contemporary women writers like Jo Eldrige Carey (2005), Ramie Targoff, and Virginia 

Woolf (1925) have written about and discussed Shakespeare's works to assert female 

agency and perspective within the literary canon. By adapting his plays, they use 

intertextual dialogue to challenge gender and racial power dynamics. Carey (2005) 

analyzes how these adaptive works critique oppressive traditions and give voice to 

marginalized subjects, such as postcolonial women or queer identities. Carey (2005) 

emphasizes the importance of intertextual adaptation as a means for women to subvert 

canonical narratives, engage in cultural critique, and promote inclusivity. Through skillful 

manipulation of intertextual links, contemporary authors pay homage to Shakespeare 

while reinventing his texts as vehicles for progressive social commentary and female self-

expression.  



3 

While most of Shakespeare’s plays were adapted, The Tempest is one of the plays that the 

previous writers simulated up to it. The Tempest continues to inspire modern 

interpretations in different genres. Atwood's novel Hag-Seed (2016) gives a political take 

on power, revenge, and redemption. In Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire 

(2018), British rapper Akala (2018) explores contemporary Britain's dynamics of race, 

class, and empire. Akala (2018) strategically references Shakespeare to advance nuanced 

social commentary on identity and inequality. Additionally, Carey's The True History of 

the Kelly Gang (2000) taps into The Tempest's enduring characters and motifs. These 

contemporary adaptations exemplify Shakespeare's timeless exploration of power, 

servitude, and liberation through intertextual dialogue. 

The acclaimed Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish (1998) frequently incorporated 

allusions and references to Shakespeare throughout his influential literary works. By 

creatively engaging with Shakespearean texts and characters, Darwish (1998) established 

insightful parallels between the universal themes explored in English literature and the 

distinctive experiences of Arab culture. For instance, in his iconic poem "We Were 

Missing the Present," Darwish (1998) references Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and 

draws comparisons between the Shakespearean protagonists and the anonymous Arab 

and Jewish protagonists: 

Let’s go, as we are:  

a free lover  

and her poet.  

What fell of December snow  

wasn’t enough, so smile  

for snow to card its cotton on the Christian’s prayer,  

we will soon return to our tomorrow, behind us,  

where we were young in love’s beginning,  

playing Romeo and Juliet  

and learning Shakespeare’s language …  

The butterflies have fluttered out of sleep  



4 

as a mirage of a swift peace  

that adorns us with two stars  

and kills us in the struggle over the name 

 between two windows so, let’s go  

and let’s be kind (Darwish, 1998, p. 55). 

Through this poetic linking, Darwish (1998) was able to convey an image of the 

impossible love an Arab and a Jewish would experience just like that of Romeo and Juliet. 

“The speaker confirms that he and Rita recognized from the “beginning” that they are 

toying with a dangerous romance pretty much like Romeo and Juliet, yet they learnt 

“Shakespeare’s language”, suggesting that they learnt a lesson from their tragic destiny” 

(Hamamra & Qabaha, 2022, p. 11). Darwish (1998) revealed how the human flaws and 

struggles illuminated in Shakespeare's tragedies continue to manifest in the modern day 

across all cultures.  

In addition to "We Were Missing the Present" (Darwish (1998), Darwish strategically 

invoked Shakespearean references in works such as “Psalm 2” to stress shared human 

experiences that resonate irrespective of cultural or geographic origins. Darwish says: 

Now I find myself denied 

like trees growing out of books 

the wind is just a passing thing 

shall I fight or shall I not fight? 

that is not the question 

shall I work or shall I not work? 

that is not the question (Darwish, 1998, p. 14).  

 Darwish (1998) suggested that Arab struggles for freedom and justice share core 

similarities with the essential human struggles captured in Shakespeare's plays like 

Hamlet. This intertextual technique when alluding to the famous speech by Hamlet “To 

be or not to be, that isn’t the question” allowed Darwish (1998) to connect the Palestinian 

resistance movement with universal aspirations for dignity and self-determination. 



5 

Beyond direct allusions, Darwish also echoed Shakespeare's poetic voice through his 

evocative metaphors, existential themes, and stylistic choices. Compared to 

Shakespeare’s As You Like It in which he reflects on issues related to the human struggle 

to exist and to have an identity, Darwish’s “Identity Card” also focuses on issues like 

human existence and identity. This reflects the enduring influence of Shakespeare's 

incomparable literary expressions and spirit. Overall, Darwish leveraged his multifaceted 

intertextual engagement with Shakespeare to craft a body of Arabic writings that 

simultaneously convey cultural specificity and universal human emotions as Al 

Hawamdeh expresses in his essay “Shakespeare as an Icon of Peace and Human 

Coexistence in Mahmoud Darwish’s Shakespearean Appropriations”; Al Hawamdeh 

focuses on how Darwish’s works and masterful incorporation of textual references can 

allow literature to find common ground across borders while still upholding diverse 

cultural perspectives. “Even though Shakespeare’s position to pacificism is controversial 

among modern scholars, Darwish views the British Bard as a pacifist and anti-war icon” 

(3). Darwish's integration of Shakespearean allusions throughout his poems serves as a 

testament to the potential for intertextuality to enrich contemporary literature especially 

when it comes to the themes of displacement and his journey to explore identity. Thus 

Darwish’s “The Dice Player” Darwish (2009) doesn’t directly refer to any of 

Shakespeare’s plays, still, Darwish mirrors themes that are highly presented in 

Shakespeare’s plays mostly related to humans’ identity and existence. “Focused in “The 

Dice Player” on the Darwishian poetic journey in the Palestinian context with special 

emphasis on images of existence, resistance and his contribution to the Palestinian 

identity” (Al Shaer, 2014, p. 3).  

In her scholarly examination of Fadia Faqir's novels Pillars of Salt (1996) and My Name 

is Salma (2008), Carey (2005) analyzes how Faqir makes use of and reinterprets 

Shakespearean intertextuality intending to subvert gender norms. Specifically, Carey 

(2005) notes that the character Najwa, a reinterpretation of Desdemona, embodies 

feminist resistance against societal expectations through her fierce independence and 

refusal to conform. Carey (2005) argues that through Najwa, Faqir challenges the limited 

representations of women in Shakespeare's works and asserts Arab women's agency in 

redefining their roles in society.  



6 

This study will investigate the use of intertextuality in Layla Al Ammar’s novels Silence 

is a Sense (2021) and The Pact We Made (2019), specifically in her reference to the 

adaptation of Shakespeare's The Tempest and the character of Ariel. William 

Shakespeare's literary work has been subject to an array of appropriations and adaptations 

in the Arab world. As Graham (2002) puts it “Received in the Middle East as a great icon 

of classical theatre, Shakespeare is there for writers to admire, emulate, imitate or 

challenge” (Graham, 2002, p. 141). Rather than merely using Shakespearean 

intertextuality for the sake of imitation or admiration, Al Ammar's reference to The 

Tempest serves to challenge and subvert existing literary and social norms. Through 

Dahlia’s narration (the protagonist in The Pact We Made), one could draw a vision of 

Eastern society at its ugliest, the one in which a person, here the female is more restricted, 

must not allow any hint of gossip by letting her own choices and decisions for the sake of 

parents’ and others’ choices, and for the sake of family’s reputation, since in cultures of 

honor, the family is viewed as the core institution of society; the family plays a strong 

role in a person’s identity as a human being. Therefore, these individuals must fulfill the 

expectations of family and culture to be accepted by them and feel a sense of belonging 

to this central institution to which they are bound by birth to marriage. Through this 

narration, readers are also presented with the societal and patriarchal oppression leading 

the female to thoughts of self-murder, liberation, and escapism. The continuous reference 

to Ariel's Character in The Tempest could be connected to the relationship between the 

colonized and the colonizer. The significance of referring to The Tempest shows and plays 

a role in letting the readers see Dahlia’s analogies and parallels with Ariel. It is clarified 

how by concluding the situation of both Dahlia and Ariel, one comes to summarize that 

they both experience and live in the same mentally and physically abusive society and 

controller despite the different time frames of the two literary works.  

Through intertextual references to Shakespeare's play, Al Ammar reexamines and 

reinterprets the themes, characters, and power dynamics present in The Tempest within 

the context of her narratives. This subversion allows her to question and critique 

established norms and shed light on alternative perspectives, particularly concerning 

issues of power, identity, and marginalized voices. By examining the similarities and 

differences between Al Ammar's novels and The Tempest, this study will explore how 

intertextuality sheds light on the complexities of power dynamics between the colonized 



7 

and the colonizer, or the slave and the master, in both works. By examining Dahlia in The 

Pact We Made, the narrator and other women in Silence is a Sense, and Ariel in The 

Tempest, this study argues that Al Ammar's use of intertextuality reveals the ongoing 

relevance of issues related to colonialism and oppression, gives voice to those who have 

historically been marginalized in these discussions, and illustrates how literature can be 

used to challenge historical and cultural contexts that shape forms of oppression. 

Intertextuality plays a vital role in letting the readers see the analogies and parallels that 

Dahlia, the narrator, and Ariel share, highlighting the marginalization of women in the 

East and West, now and in the past. Al Ammar’s writing illustrates the control, 

oppression, and imprisonment recorded by women in Kuwaiti society. Numerous 

references claim that a raped woman in the East has to keep silent and controlled for the 

sake of her family’s reputation as well as her future. This is shown in Nikki R. Keddie 

book’s Women in the Middle East (2007). An examination of women’s lives in the 

Ottoman Empire, in Turkey, in Iran, and all of the Arab countries is presented in Women 

in the Middle East. Keddie (2007) examines the way Islam is changing in conjunction 

with political, cultural, and socioeconomic developments. In doing so, she demonstrates 

that Islam, like other major religions, incorporates ideas and practices of male superiority. 

Keddie (2007) challenges stereotypes of Middle Eastern women as faceless victims and 

points out their role in the rise of modern nationalist, socialist, and Islamist movements.  

By using intertextuality, Al Ammar employs a powerful technique to convey her 

messages and values in common with Shakespeare's works and uses them as a point of 

departure to challenge and subvert existing power structures and dominant narratives. In 

The Pact We Made, Dahlia declares: 

I imagine myself as his editor, imagine him there, scowling, on the floor of my 

living room, his back against the wall, legs stretched out and crossed at the 

ankles. His arms are also crossed; of course, they are – who likes watching 

someone read what they wrote? ‘If you insist on reading my words,’ he says, 

‘you might do me the courtesy of reading them aloud. They are like the plays of 

Shakespeare, meant to be heard rather than read, (Al Ammar, 2019, p. 201). 

This suggests that the experience of silently reading Shakespeare's works may not fully 

capture their intended impact. This observation holds particular relevance when 



8 

considering The Tempest, where the character of Ariel, a spirit endowed with the ability 

to manipulate sounds and create illusions through song, plays a significant role. Dahlia 

believes she is in a play where she is given instructions and roles to play by her parents. 

Whenever she thinks of her life as a complete play and compares it to Ariel, she comes 

to know that even though Ariel is a character in an imaginative play, still Ariel is more 

real than Dahlia; at least Ariel is colonized by one person, but Dahlia is colonized by 

more than that, she is colonized by her parents, her rapist uncle, the society, and the 

reputation of all of them. In The Tempest, the first time Ariel appears indicates how she 

is a slave to her master Prospero; to whom Dahlia’s parents stand in The Pact We Made. 

Ariel states in her first uttering words in the play that she is going to do whatever she is 

asked by her master:  

All hail, great master! Grave sir, hail! I come 

To answer thy best pleasure; be’t to fly,  

To swim, to dive into the fire, to ride  

On the curled clouds. To thy strong bidding task 

Ariel and all his quality (Shakespeare, 1958, p. 1.2). 

Comparing Dahlia to Ariel, one could easily find the matching points between these two 

characters regarding the theme of control and colonization at the family manner. Dahlia 

best describes this situation when talking about parents and their control, she thinks: 

How much damage do parents do, unintentional though it may be? A word that 

cleaves the psyche, a withheld embrace that ripples through generations, an 

episode that festers like an open wound. Might these things not be so easily 

avoided if we all just scattered ourselves to the wind? (Al Ammar, The Pact We 

Made, 2019).  

Dahlia thinks that most of the parents’ actions are unintentional, but still, they always 

cause damage to their daughters by controlling them. She desperately asks herself: Is it 

possible that we could all spread ourselves to the wind so that these things might be 

avoided? 

Colonization however as Ariel finds “has taken away not only land, but also her language, 

culture and identity” (Fei, 2007: 118). This is to be appealed to Dahlia’s situation. In 



9 

many scenes, Dahlia is shown how to speak and how to act so that her behavior would 

meet others’ and society’s expectations. She is to be told how to speak and even what to 

speak. Dahlia’s mother takes the main role of giving instructions and taking away 

Dahlia’s identity. It is narrated when someone comes to see Dahlia that her mother says:  

You wait at the top of the stairs, never greeting him at the door – that’s for your 

chaperones to do. When your mother and sister and aunts have ushered him into 

the fancy sitting room, you still wait five minutes or so. You stand on the stairs, 

and maybe your nerves die away or maybe they gather strength like a western 

dust storm, obliterating everything in its path. Finally, you come down, you kiss 

his mother’s cheeks and nod politely at him. Don’t smile too much, that reeks of 

desperation. Let the chaperones do most of the talking; let him lead the 

discussion. He speaks English to impress you. Try not to spill the tea when you 

pour it for him (Al Ammar, 2019, p. 12). 

Here Dahlia is told to act as if she is in a mold and she doesn’t have a real voice to decide 

what to do and what not to do. Generally speaking, both Ariel and Dahlia work to 

negotiate with the colonizers, they subvert patriarchal power in many ways. Dahlia as 

shown in many scenes tries to have her voice and decides to draw a tattoo as a kind of 

subverting. She tries to have control over her body by doing what others see as taboo and 

unacceptable: 

‘Khalas, I wash my hands of you.’ 

‘Mama!’ Nadia gasped, dropping a hand on her shoulder to quiet her. 

I won’t lie: there was a definite relief, a crackling joy that shuddered through me 

at her words. It tasted like freedom, wet and sweet on my tongue. I was 

indecisive; should I push them harder, get them to sever the bonds now? Or 

should I measure my response, see if they’d bend before it was torn forever? (Al 

Ammar, 2019, p. 182). 

What is indicated here is that Dahlia feels some kind of relief when she knows her mother 

isn’t any more able to control her.  



10 

As a central component of The Tempest, Ariel's lyrical songs convey thematic topics of 

freedom, mercy, and forgiveness within the play's exploration of colonialism, power 

dynamics, and oppression. Ariel in the same manner tries to gain freedom, she says: 

Your charm so strongly works ’em that, if you now beheld them, your affections would 

become tender (Shakespeare, 1958, p. 6.1). 

In those lines, it is shown how despite Prospero’s objections, Ariel attempts to convince 

him that his conjuring tricks have worked. Prospero must also stop playing with his 

enemies for Ariel to be freed. So as a kind of subverting, the words of Ariel are geared 

towards manipulating Prospero for the sake of her own freedom. In another scene, it is 

reminded that the sorcerer’s bidding is only done by Ariel to gain her freedom from 

Prospero, not out of loyalty or entertainment.  

Is there more toil? Since thou dost give me pains,  

Let me remember thee what thou hast promised,  

Which is not yet performed me. 

Prospero frees Ariel from the pine tree that she has been imprisoned by when he arrives 

on the island. To repay Prospero, Ariel vows to serve him faithfully for a year and 

Prospero needs to abide by his end of the bargain now that a year (or more) has passed.  

Additionally, the beautiful, metaphor-rich verse encapsulates Ariel's intrinsic connection 

to nature and the spirit world while underscoring his desire for liberation from tyranny. 

Ariel also at some points loses her real identity and appears differently. In one of the 

scenes, the characters see Ariel in the terrifying form of a harpy. Classical mythology 

describes harpies as rapacious monsters. Unlike humans, harpies are hybrid creatures that 

contain both a woman’s head and body as well as a bird’s wings and claws. While being 

in this shape, Ariel declares: 

You are three men of sin, whom destiny, 

That hath to instrument this lower world 

And what is in ’t, the never-surfeited sea 

Hath caused to belch up you, and on this island 

Where man doth not inhabit, you ‘mongst men 

Being most unfit to live. I have made you mad (Shakespeare, 1958, p. 3.4).  



11 

So it is Ariel’s intent to drive the men mad with this terrifying vision. Though having a 

bird's wings and claws has many to say about it. It could be interpreted that just like 

Dahlia when she hopes to be a bird with no control, Ariel appears in such an image to 

deliver a message for those around her that she wills to be like a bird and gain her freedom. 

She loses her real shape for the sake of her need to be free.  

Subsequently, Shakespeare's intent for theatric spectacle comes alive through these poetic 

numbers, with rhythmic language and cadences enrapturing audiences. Moreover, 

analysis suggests the songs accentuate Shakespeare's pioneering dramatic style and reach 

full impact when performed rather than read silently from a page. Additionally, by 

propelling the plot and characterization for Ariel, Prospero, and others, the compositions 

raise rich philosophical questions about morality, authority, and freedom. Finally, Ariel's 

iconic songs showcase Shakespeare's poetic mastery and highlight why language and 

performance were integral to his legacy. 

Moreover, Shakespeare's value of the spoken word aligns with the concept of 

intertextuality in literature, wherein authors draw upon existing texts and cultural 

references to construct new works that engage with and respond to the past. 

Through this intertextual reference, Al Ammar invites readers to draw comparisons 

between the oppression experienced by Ariel as a colonized and enslaved individual, and 

the experiences of women who have been similarly marginalized and oppressed in their 

societies. Where Prospero and Ariel in The Tempest stand for the colonized and the 

colonizer; Prospero as the colonizer and Ariel as the colonized, Dahlia and her parents in 

The Pact We Made also present the same image; Dahlia in the Kuwaiti society is the 

colonized, while her parents and the society are the colonizers. The colonization of Ariel 

has taken away her identity. Similarly, the control, oppression, and societal expectations 

have deprived Dahlia of her real identity and character as a mature 30-year-old woman. 

Dahlia pays very much attention to Ariel because she feels connected to her, she is so 

obsessed with Ariel because she finds herself in Ariel's character to much extent; she lives 

under the same conditions, struggles for freedom, and faces the same difficulties and 

obstacles Ariel does: 

We chewed in silence for a while, and I thought about Ariel. My replicas of him 

were multiplying; they were in sketchbooks, my monthly planner and notepads 



12 

at work, and still on my skin. Beneath my work clothes – my nice trousers and 

blouse and blazer – that sprite was inked all over my body: I'd blackened the 

outline on my thigh; I'd drawn him trapped in a tree on my other thigh; he was 

crawling up my left forearm, looking up at me with eyes that yearned for 

freedom. I was sliding into obsession, I knew. Between The Tempest and the 

Goyas on my wall, all my sketches lately had been of monsters (Al Ammar, 

2019, p. 59). 

Dahlia's main concern from the films she always watches is Ariel. Dahlia states “It was 

all well and good, but such concepts flew right over my head. All I'd gotten from the film 

was a strange crush on the actor playing Ariel” (Al Ammar, 2019, p. 21). She shows how 

happy and relieved she feels whenever she talks about Ariel as if Dahlia could express 

herself through Ariel: 

Showing him Walter Crane's illustrations of the play I told him how I'd 

spent far too long staring at the one of Caliban kneeling before Stephano 

and Trinculo. Caliban beseeches the would-be rebels, reminding them that 

he is ‘subject to a tyrant’, but those weren't my feelings, not really. I didn't 

identify with him any more than I did with the tree Ariel was trapped in. I 

didn't feel as if it was saying something to me – unlike the Goyas, which 

never stopped talking. The Crane illustration calmed me; I found a muted 

joy in the stones at Caliban's feet, the leaves all around, the fold of 

Stephano's tunic (Al Ammar, 2019, p. 83). 

Dahlia believes that Ariel says what Dahlia can't say; Ariel somehow expresses Dahlia's 

thoughts and feelings “Maybe Ariel and her bat would get the point across, or Goya's 

condemned women and upright jackasses, or Fuseli's nightmare. Maybe those prints 

would say what I couldn't find the words for” (Al Ammar, 2019, p. 135). So through the 

tattoo and the drawings in her room, “She hadn't seen my new Ariel obsession, only the 

Goyas that were multiplying on the walls in my room. She'd begged me to take them 

down, but I refused” (Al Ammar, 2019, p. 43), Dahlia intends to have Ariel as her main 

passion and focus.  

Al Ammar's works, along with the other adaptations mentioned, highlight the ongoing 

relevance of Shakespeare's themes and characters, and how they can be reinterpreted and 



13 

adapted for contemporary audiences. As Diana Henderson states in her book 

Collaborations with the Past: Reshaping Shakespeare across Time and Media, 

"Adaptations and appropriations of Shakespeare's works not only breathe new life into 

the plays but also serve as a testament to their timeless appeal and their ability to speak 

to diverse cultures and contexts" (Henderson, 2006, p. 104). 

Shakespeare's literary corpus displays enduring brilliance that inspires modern artists to 

re-explore his archetypal themes, characters, and narratives through contemporary lenses. 

Additionally, by reinterpreting Shakespeare's timeless elements based on current 

perspectives, artists underscore the transformative capacity of his canon to be reworked 

across genres and eras. Subsequently, this study utilizes intertextuality theory to examine 

Ariel's situation in The Tempest in relation to similar themes and trapped figures in Al 

Ammar's texts. Moreover, their shared exploration of confinement and struggle for 

freedom reveals intertextual links. Overall, the persistence of Shakespeare's influence 

confirms the evolving nature of his body of work. Finally, this study examines explicitly 

Julia Kristeva's and Roland Barthes's theory of intertextuality. 

By applying Kristeva's and Barthes's theory of intertextuality, this study seeks to uncover 

the complex and multi-layered relationships between these texts and how they contribute 

to our understanding of the human experience. 

The significance of this study stems from the fact that there are no sufficient studies in 

which intertextuality and adaptation in Al Ammar's works are discussed and so, it comes 

to fill a gap in such studies. More specifically, there are no studies that tackle 

Shakespearean intertextuality in Al Ammar's The Pact We Made and Silence is a Sense, 

and so this study is unique, as it is the first of its kind. The present study also derives its 

significance from the fact that it purports to open a window into the Kuwaiti and Arab 

cultures in general and into the correct and erroneous ways of transferring them via 

intertextuality and adaptation in particular. Moreover, this study will attempt to venture 

beyond explicit cultural meanings by focusing also on adaptation and intertextuality that 

are implicit in the source text and that are part of the bigger picture the author is trying to 

paint in her novels. 

  



14 

1.2. Methodologies of the Study 

Referring to Ariel will be widely explained according to Julia Kristeva’s theory of 

intertextuality. Intertextuality theory though could be the most powerful framework to 

interpret this research. The researcher will make use of rape trauma syndrome, its 

symptoms, and its effects, and apply them to the state of Dahlia. The researcher will also 

shed the light on Lacanian point of view on the mirror stage and how Dahlia in many 

situations narrates that she doesn’t recognize herself when looking in the mirror, similar 

enough to the situation of the refugee narrator being outside her home in Silence is a 

Sense. This is directly related to Lacan’s theory of the mirror stage in which he argues: 

The mirror stage is a drama whose internal thrust is precipitated from 

insufficiency to anticipation – and which manufactures for all the subject, caught 

up in the lure of spatial identification, the succession of phantasies that extends 

from a fragmented body-image to a form of its totality that I shall call orthopedic 

– and, lastly, to the assumption of the armor of an alienating identity, which will 

mark with its rigid structure the infants' entire mental development (Lacan, 2006, 

p. 54). 

So through Dahlia’s words and Lacan’s analysis, it is expressed how it looks like for 

Dahlia to be a shared staff by saying: “I realized a long time ago that, in a lot of ways, my 

body is not strictly mine. It’s a shared entity, something to be criticized, guarded, 

commented on, and violated.” (46) Through her journey to gain freedom, Ariel similarly 

loses her real identity. It could be said that Ariel could even change just to have her 

freedom from Prospero: 

I boarded the king’s ship; now on the beak, 

Now in the waist, the deck, in every cabin, 

I flamed amazement: sometime I’d divide, 

And burn in many places; on the topmast, 

The yards and bowsprit, would I flame distinctly, 

Then meet and join (Shakespeare, 1958, p. 1.2). 

Prospero’s performer, Ariel, can change her shape and substance, and she performs 

spectacles for him to the extent that if she looks at the mirror, she wouldn’t be able to 



15 

know herself just like Dahlia. Through Ariel’s and Dahlia’s words, it is realized that they 

don’t sense themselves and they in one way or another don’t exist. Dahlia sadly continues:  

That wasn’t the point. I’m digressing. Besides, I relinquished control of my body 

a long time ago. I no longer have a connection to it. Perhaps I never truly did. 

My point is that my life was not my own either. It too was  something to be 

controlled, commented upon, and directed to the will of others (Al Ammar, 2019, 

p. 46). 

In this sense, Dahlia comes to deduce that she has never had power over herself; it is not 

a newly discovered situation, but the point is that the situations and trauma she has been 

through help her to see the reality of herself as a controlled and shared human being.  

This study aims to identify the intertextual references and the influence of William 

Shakespeare's play The Tempest on Layla Al Ammar's works The Pact We Made and 

Silence is a Sense, based on the concept of intertextuality from Julia Kristeva's 

perspective. This perspective focuses on the interaction and mutual influence of texts, 

highlighting the interplay between older texts, such as The Tempest, and newer ones, like 

The Pact We Made and Silence is a Sense. The researcher will focus on how Al Ammar 

employs The Tempest as an interactive reference within the themes of her texts, which 

include silence, colonization, self-awareness, and psychological trauma . 

The researcher employed a qualitative approach, focusing on literary analysis of both 

authors' works using a critical approach that highlights the relationship between 

Shakespeare's texts and Al Ammar's texts. This relationship will be explored by pointing 

out the shared social, political, and cultural themes addressed in both . 

The researcher adopted a descriptive-analytical methodology. The intertextual 

relationships between Shakespeare's play and Al Ammar's novels will be extrapolated 

through an analysis of the situations in Al Ammar's works that quote The Tempest, 

whether directly or indirectly. Emphasis will be placed on how the author employs these 

references to develop the characters and highlight social, political, and cultural themes . 

The sample consists of three literary works: William Shakespeare's The Tempest, which 

serves as the primary source of intertextuality in this research, and Layla Al Ammar's 

novels Silence is a Sense and The Pact We Made. The focus will be on how Al Ammar 



16 

borrows characters and events from Shakespeare's play, such as the character of Ariel and 

the theme of colonization, to connect them with the experiences of the characters in her 

novels. 

The tools used in this study include literary texts, where passages dealing with shared 

themes will be cited. That is, a passage from Shakespeare’s play will be mentioned 

alongside a corresponding passage from Al Ammar’s novels, and the similarities in theme 

or issue will be discussed. Additionally, literary criticism will be utilized, relying on 

articles and studies about the theory of intertextuality, as well as critical works on Layla 

Al Ammar and William Shakespeare. Moreover, the researcher will conduct a close 

reading of Shakespeare’s play and Al Ammar’s literary works . 

1.3 Literature Review 

Any scientific investigation must rely heavily on prior literature to create a solid cognitive 

groundwork. In this light, Laila Al Ammar offers a modern take on questions of 

individuality and freedom by drawing on classic literature in pieces like The Pact We 

Made and Silence is a Sense. By analyzing the novels through the lens of literary 

intertextuality, we may better grasp the social and cultural aspects that these works 

examine, which in turn illuminate the hardships endured by Arab women. 

Al Ammar, in her enthralling novel, The Pact We Made, delves into complex themes 

surrounding women's emancipation drawing on the depths of her experience. 

Furthermore, Al Ammar evokes the spirit of Shakespeare's legendary heroes by way of a 

rebellious female protagonist who fights against oppressive cultural standards. Her 

brilliant characters also bring attention to gender bias, preconceptions, and women's 

struggle for autonomy. Al Ammar (2019) raises the voices of women challenging 

restrictive norms, prompting critical reflection on authority, identity, and the female 

experience in the Arab world. Ultimately, The Pact We Made demonstrates Al Ammar’s 

ability to create compelling narratives that highlight the intricacies of Arab women's 

endeavors to assert their independence and individuality. Moreover, her adept narrative 

adds depth to characters embarking on exciting paths of self-determination under 

entrenched social obstacles. 



17 

Al Ammar's modern narratives encapsulate the essence of contemporary Arab society, 

providing novel insights into the changing roles of women and the pursuit of self-

determination. What The Pact We Made does is provide an alternative image of Kuwait 

women. Dahlia’s break away from tradition gives birth to her recovery, and her ability to 

choose a path in life. Her ending is an anti-Bildungsroman ending, where the protagonist 

chooses not to conform to traditional ending . Her works connect classic narrative with 

contemporary discourse, demonstrating literature's lasting ability to stimulate thought and 

promote change. In those novels, the protagonists are presented as trying to find their way 

to the center from the margins, from being silenced and invisible to a more centered 

narration of their subjectivity. 

In Silence is a Sense, Al Ammar (2021) utilizes the character of Ariel from The Tempest 

to subvert and interrogate the experiences and tragedies of migrants. In her acclaimed 

work Silence is a Sense, Al Ammar conveys the profound psychological scars of war 

through an unidentified teenage Syrian refugee. Through poetic prose, Al Ammar 

articulates the significant losses and displacements that now characterize the protagonist's 

existence. Reflecting Ariel's condition of displacement in Shakespeare's The Tempest, the 

narrator struggles to reclaim meaning and identity in a world fractured by violence. Al 

Ammar elucidates the profound impact of tragedy and turmoil while also alluding to the 

resiliency of the human spirit. The work examines overarching themes of belonging, 

uniqueness, and the quest for meaning in life following the obliteration of much that 

preceded it. Both elegiac and subtly optimistic, Silence is a Sense articulates the 

experiences of individuals grappling with the aftermath of war's destruction. Al Ammar 

poignantly depicts their sufferings with exceptional empathy. Her poetic writing infuses 

empathy into the harrowing consequences of calamity and relocation. The work 

exemplifies the potency of narrative in articulating experiential truth. 

Furthermore, the themes of colonialism, the marginalization of women, sexual violence, 

grief, and belonging, which are prevalent in The Tempest, are similarly explored in 

Silence is a Sense. Regarding intertextuality and adaptation, the novel contains two 

explicit allusions to Shakespeare's works, and the similarities between the two texts imply 

an implicit intertextuality. Through the use of adaptation and intertextuality, Al Ammar 

enriches the novel while delving into universal and eternal topics. In general, Silence is a 

Sense is an incredibly moving demonstration of the strength of the human will and a 



18 

sobering call to action to resolve the continuing refugee problem. As said by Al Hussein 

(2021) “Through the critical lens, Silence is a Sense engages questions of migrant 

subjectivity, cultural meaning construction, and collective identity formation through 

embedded acts of reading and writing that contest discourses of power, (in)visibility and 

cultural dominance” (Al Hussein, 2021, p. 161). 

Like William Shakespeare's famous plays, Silence is a Sense delves deeply into questions 

of identity, human experience, and the power of silence. The subject matter of Al 

Ammar's intertextual references frequently goes beyond the confines of canonical 

literature. By deftly incorporating Shakespearean intertextuality into her work, she 

encourages readers to see connections between the oppressed characters in her modern 

novels and those in Shakespeare's plays. The protagonist of Al Ammar's work, like many 

of Shakespeare's characters, struggles with societal pressures to remain silent even as she 

seeks to express himself. Al Ammar (2021) shows that Shakespeare's examination of 

language's power and human complexity is still relevant today through this intertextual 

engagement. Both the enduring relevance of Shakespeare's ideas and her skill in 

reimagining them for a contemporary audience are on full display in her work. By linking 

two separate literary canons, Silence is a Sense exemplifies the transforming and 

everlasting potential of literary adaptation and intertextuality. 

In an article he wrote, Emanuela Buscemi makes the first published statement regarding 

the problem of intertextuality in one of his essays when he states: 

… frequent literary devices frame Dahlia's struggle within the symbolism of 

Shakespeare's The Tempest, suggesting a parallel between the young Kuwaiti 

woman and the rebellious spirit Ariel. The use of the English language, along 

with everyday Arabic terms, can be interpreted as a way to represent the 

multilingual, translingual, and glocal nature of Kuwait and the existential quests 

that the book's characters engage in, while accounting for the distance from the 

quotidian nature of societal restrictions (Buscemi, 2022, p. 12).  

As far as I am aware, and after reviewing all the pertinent literature, I am in the rare and 

exciting position of being the first researcher to delve deeply into the complicated 

structure of intertextuality that connects these three separate works of literature. 



19 

1.4 Research questions 

By the end of this research, the following questions will be answered:  

1. How could intertextuality be used as a framework for interpreting the 3 texts? 

2. What is the implication behind using intertextuality? 

3. How does intertextuality help Al Ammar deliver her intended message and eastern 

women’s voices? 

4. How can the theme of colonization on females be assessed in the 3 texts? 

5. How is recognition of oneself employed in the 3 texts? 

6. Are females in the East and West treated equally to men? And how can 

discrimination against women be read in the 3 texts? 

7. What impediments have hindered the protagonists’ assimilation into different 

societies?  

1.5 Aims and objectives 

The research is expected to achieve the following objectives: 

1. Al Ammar’s The Pact We Made and Silence is a Sense are meant to use intertextuality 

and adaptation as the main techniques to reveal discrimination against their 

protagonists as pieces of evidence of the inferior look of females in the East and west.  

2. Through using intertextuality : 

- It is shown how both novelists with different time phases and cultures reveal racism 

against women. 

- It is proven that females are not treated equally to males, and they are only seen as 

servants to men. 

- It is emphasized the protagonists’ psychological ramifications of traumatic rape 

experiences of belonging and acceptance. 

- It is illustrated that Arab writers would adapt Shakespeare’s works since his 

characters are to a great extent similar to Arab women’s situation. 

  



20 

1.6 Significance of the Study 

This study holds significance in both literary and cultural contexts. By examining the 

intertextual echoes of Shakespeare within the works of Layla Al Ammar, the research 

bridges classical English literature and contemporary Arab fiction, highlighting the 

dynamic interplay between canonical texts and postcolonial voices. The analysis 

contributes to the growing field of comparative literature by uncovering how global 

literary traditions can be reimagined within modern Middle Eastern narratives. 

Furthermore, the study underscores the relevance of Shakespeare’s themes, such as 

identity, power, silence, and resistance, in the sociopolitical realities of the Arab world, 

especially as represented through Al Ammar’s nuanced storytelling. It also offers insight 

into how Arab women writers engage with Western literary heritage to articulate hybrid 

identities and challenge dominant discourses. 

1.7 Limitations of the Study 

This study is limited in several ways. First, it focuses exclusively on two novels by Layla 

Al Ammar (2019), The Pact We Made and Silence is a Sense, and their intertextual 

relationship with a selected Shakespearean text, namely The Tempest. This selective 

corpus, while purposeful, may not account for other potential intertextual references 

across Al Ammar’s wider body of work or other Arab writers engaging with Shakespeare. 

Second, the study adopts a qualitative, interpretive approach rooted in close reading and 

comparative analysis, which may limit the generalizability of its findings. Additionally, 

the analysis emphasizes literary and thematic parallels without delving deeply into 

linguistic or historical adaptations of Shakespeare in the Arab world. Lastly, access to 

authorial commentary or interviews was not available, which could have enriched the 

contextual framing of intertextual intent. 

1.8 Corpus of the Study 

Summary of The Pact We Made 

The novel revolves around the character of Dahlia, a Kuwaiti woman in her late twenties 

living in a conservative society, where she is subjected to intense pressure from her family 

and society to marry. Despite her outward appearance as an obedient daughter, Dahlia 

conceals an inner conflict resulting from a traumatic childhood experience. The novel 

explores the effects of silence, shame, and the social stigma associated with sexual 



21 

violence, and also highlights the restrictions imposed on women in Gulf societies. The 

novel uses interior narration to depict the tension between the desire for liberation and the 

fear of consequences, making it a rich text in examining identity, silence, and resistance . 

Summary of Silence is a Sense 

It tells the story of a young Syrian refugee living in the United Kingdom who suffers from 

a loss of speech due to the trauma she experienced during war and asylum. She lives in a 

small apartment and watches her neighbors from the window while working as a writer 

for a website where she publishes articles about her experience as a refugee, under a 

pseudonym. The novel moves between the present and images of the past, showing the 

repercussions of war, displacement, and isolation, and their impact on the human psyche. 

By using silence as a form of expression, the novel discusses issues of belonging, 

alienation, and identity, and shows how writing can be a means of survival and resistance. 

 

 

  



22 

Chapter Two 

Intertextuality to Reveal an Image of Colonization: Ariel, Dahlia, the 

Unknown Narrator 

2.1 Introduction 

Writers and authors may greatly enhance the amount of complexity in their written works 

by using intertextuality to develop links with prior literary works (Rahman, 1982). The 

term was used by Julia Kristeva to characterize works that take on a more complex and 

harmonic nature as a result of their interactions with other texts. The idea that writings 

are constructed from previous texts is the foundation of this statement. One important 

feature of this kind of intertextuality is its capacity to create a network of symbols and 

allusions via the convergence of ideas and fusion of interpretations (Raj, 2015).  

Authors may delve deeply into complex cultural, political, and historical subjects by using 

intertextuality. The persistent theme of colonialism is often explored in literature (Van 

Zoonen, 2017). Authors might use intertextuality to draw parallels between literary works 

from different periods to highlight the relevance of the colonial past to current issues. 

This method may help us comprehend how colonialism influenced shifts in power 

dynamics, cultural norms, and personal identities across time. This methodology enables 

an analysis of colonialism not just as a past occurrence but also as an enduring influence 

that profoundly molds contemporary civilizations (Zengin, 2016). 

Referencing classical books, particularly those published during or around the colonial 

period, in modern works is a common way for postcolonial writers to challenge colonial 

narratives through the use of intertextuality (Labaune-Demeule, 2016). After official 

colonialism has ceased, Rahman (1982) argued, authors might use this strategy to 

comment on how colonial power mechanisms continue to affect the colonized. 

Postcolonial writers also show how imperialism is still influencing modern society by 

analyzing and rewriting literature that discusses colonialism. Additionally, they suggest 

looking back at how things were to comprehend how they affected today's circumstances. 

  



23 

2.2 Colonialism as a central theme in Shakespeare's play: The Tempest 

"You taught me language; and my profit on ‘t 

Is, I know how to curse: the red plague rid you , 

For learning me your language" (Shakespeare, 2014). 

From a colonial perspective, the relationships between Caliban, Ariel, and Prospero in 

The Tempest highlight concerns with power, authority, and the relationship between 

colonizers and colonized. Because it was written amid the height of European exploration 

and colonization, one interpretation of Shakespeare's play could be as an allegory for the 

European colonial endeavors, particularly in the New World (Wilkes, 2008). Prospero, 

the exiled Duke of Milan, pretends to be a colonizer when he and his daughter Miranda 

are marooned on an island. As a result of his innate wisdom and magical prowess, 

Prospero claims control of the island and its people. His unwavering faith in the inherent 

superiority of his civilizing endeavor personifies the archetypal European colonial hero. 

Despite Prospero's assertions that he is imparting civilization to the colonized people by 

teaching them language and "civilized" practices, the colonizers' excuses for oppressing 

indigenous peoples are mirrored in his exploitation and dehumanization of them (Haque, 

2016). 

One of the most nebulous characters in the colonial story is Ariel, the spirit that Prospero 

commands as well. Ariel seems to serve Prospero obediently in the hopes of future 

release, in contrast to Caliban's depiction as defiant and bitter. Colonialists frequently 

deemed some indigenous communities more "civilizable" than others; Ariel's dual nature 

as a spirit and non-human entity reflects this bias. Even though she freely agrees, Ariel's 

servitude to Prospero is indicative of colonial rule. While Caliban remains enslaved until 

the very end of the play, Ariel's desire for freedom and her ultimate release provide a 

more optimistic view of freedom (Nimavat, 2019). The colonizer's authority is often 

delicately balanced and vulnerable to rebellion, according to this metaphor. The play 

presents colonial authority as an inherently precarious system, with its roots in cycles of 

violence and exploitation. 

"Remember, I have done thee worthy service, / Told thee no lies, made no mistakings, 

served / Without or grudge or grumblings" (Shakespeare, 2014). 



24 

According to Marnieri (2013), one of the characters in the colonial play that provides a 

sense of ambiguity is Ariel, the faerie that Prospero continues to exercise authority over. 

Ariel appears to be serving Prospero with the expectation that she would be set free in the 

end, in contrast to Caliban, who is represented as being obstinate and resentful. The 

prejudiced invaders may force Ariel to assume both magical and inanimate forms because 

of the circumstances. The findings indicate that some Indigenous tribes are regarded as 

being more "civilizable" than others. Despite the fact that she is independent, Ariel 

submits herself to Prospero, which is an example of colonial rule. On the other hand, 

Ariel's desire for freedom and her eventual release at the conclusion of the play presents 

a more optimistic depiction of freedom. This is in contrast to Caliban's unfulfilled 

bondage scenario. From the perspective of this metaphor, the power of the colonizer is 

frequently unstable and susceptible to revolution. It is demonstrated in the play that 

colonial power is a fundamentally unstable system that is founded on cycles of oppression 

and brutality (Nimavat, 2019). 

Furthermore, The Tempest portrays an idea of "othering," in which the colonizer 

categorizes the colonized as inherently distinct and inferior. The conquerors perceived 

themselves as culturally superior and considered it their obligation to enforce their own 

ideals onto the native people (Ahmed, 2020). Due to the fact that the purpose of Ariel is 

not quite obvious, a new dimension is introduced, which suggests that even individuals 

who appear to be participating in the colonial system have a desire for independence. The 

Tempest may therefore be viewed as a reflection of the colonial ideals that were dominant 

throughout Shakespeare's time period, as well as a subtle criticism of the moral and 

political contradictions that are inherent in colonization. This interpretation is possible 

from the perspective of colonialism (Marnieri, 2013).  

2.3 Intertextuality in English Novelists of Arab Origin: Laila Al Ammar 

Aljamri (2022) pointed out that while Al Ammar's novel focuses on the Syrian 

experience, the plot is situated within a wider Arab and West Asian context: that of people 

and groups negotiating between terror and self-expression. It is written based on that 

profound personal experience. Thoroughly researched, with Al Ammar's genuine 

inspirations duly recognized and expressed gratitude for, the novel avoids any tendency 

towards exhibitionism or voyeurism. Rather, it arises as a potent manifestation of the 

Arab and West Asian experience after 2011. Silence is a Sense is primarily a novel that 



25 

explores how authoritarianism undermines our self-perception, both at an individual and 

collective level and by imposing violence on our capacity to communicate. The assertion 

is not that speech and community can nullify the demeaning influence of fear and violence 

- that would be excessively simplistic - but it strongly asserts that they can counteract the 

consequences . 

The imaginary characters that can be found in Shakespeare's theatrical works served as a 

source of inspiration for Layla Al Ammar, who included intertextuality in her writings. 

The author drew inspiration for her novels The Pact We Made and Silence is a Sense from 

the character of Ariel from The Tempest. These novels, which focus on topics such as 

colonialism, identity, and dictatorship, were written following this inspiration. Ariel 

symbolizes the female characters in Al Ammar's works—Dahlia and the Unknown 

Narrator —illustrating the struggles these women face with the social and psychological 

systems that suppress their freedom and independence (O’Keeffe, 2019). The most 

important aspect is that this intertextuality reveals the impact of colonization on both the 

individual and collective identities of these characters through this metaphorical 

intertextual approach (Zengin, 2016). 

Layla Al Ammar employs intertextuality with Shakespeare's The Tempest in her novels 

through the character of Ariel to point out similar themes addressed in both Al Ammar's 

and Shakespeare's works, such as oppression and subjugation. In other words, she 

reimagines Ariel through Dahlia in The Pact We Made and the Unknown Narrator in 

Silence is a Sense. Both characters reflect forms of societal and psychological 

colonization (Q & A, 2020).  

Dahlia's internal struggles regarding her freedom, particularly those that pertain to 

marriage and the societal constraints that have been forced on her as a woman, are 

impacted by a larger colonial background in which Kuwait and other Gulf nations were 

vulnerable to the influence of foreign political and cultural forces. In particular, the 

struggles that pertain to marriage and the constraints that society has imposed on her as a 

woman have had a significant impact on Dahlia. There have been ongoing confrontations 

between Western norms and traditional Arab values in the lives of women like Dahlia, to 

give just one example, as a result of the impact, which has resulted in the gender dynamics 

in the region being drastically affected by the influence. Consequently, the book that was 



26 

released by Al Ammar offers a critical study of how colonial legacies continue to exert 

an impact on contemporary challenges about gender and identity in the Arab world 

(O’Keeffe, 2019). 

2.4 Gender as the focal point of colonial hegemony 

The play depicts Dahlia's limited ability to choose her own future as a reflection of the 

colonial subject's subjugation of their own agency. The pressure exerted by her family 

and community to get married exemplifies how colonial powers created institutions and 

imposed expectations on colonized individuals, so depriving them of their autonomy to 

shape their own lives. Dahlia's personal rebellion, characterized by her rejection of 

traditional norms, evokes the resistance of colonized individuals against the authority of 

foreign national governments (Shaffi, 2019).  

The narrative establishes a strong connection between women's actions and how they look 

as a means of honor. Colonial and patriarchal control over women's bodies as markers of 

cultural identity may be the origins of this concept. In a great number of postcolonial 

nations, the female body ends up becoming a battlefield for the fight for national or 

cultural identity. It is often seen as the vessel for the preservation of cultural purity. The 

origins of this concept may be traced back to the period of colonialism, when conquerors 

attempted to achieve control over Indigenous communities by exerting influence over 

their social structures, notably via gendered power relations (Loza, 222). The concept that 

women are still seen to be the carriers of cultural and familial honor is something that has 

been reinforced by colonial and postcolonial patriarchy. In The Pact We Made, the worry 

that Dahlia's family has for her reputation and their urge for her to be married are both 

examples of this thought process (Churchward, 2021). 

2.5 The Pact We Made: Intertextuality with the Colonization of Dahlia's Body  

"How could I explain to her that nothing in my life felt real? That in a country 

like Kuwait, where everyone knew everything about each other, the most 

monumental thing to ever happen to me was buried and covered over? For the 

sake of my reputation, my future, my sister’s and cousins; the family honor sat 

on my little shoulders, so no-one could ever know” (Al Ammar, 2019). 



27 

Djohar, Budiantari, Ni’mah, & Farezi (2023) stated that society in The Pact We Made 

imposes its pressures and expectations on Dahlia, forcing her to conform to stereotypical 

gender roles. The patriarchal society she lives in becomes her colonizer, imposing its 

values and norms upon her. The similarity between Dahlia and Ariel is evident in the 

colonization of Dahlia's body, with her choices and future being dictated by her family 

and society, just as Prospero controls Ariel’s actions in The Tempest. Al Ammar uses 

intertextuality here to emphasize the colonization of the female body—Dahlia's autonomy 

is stripped away, and her desires become secondary to societal demands. Dahlia 

frequently compares herself to Ariel in The Pact We Made. Like Ariel, she is trapped, 

yearning for freedom but bound by the societal expectations related to marriage, honor, 

and reputation imposed on her. The intertextual reference to Ariel highlights Dahlia's 

internal conflict: she is torn between submitting to societal norms and her desire for 

independence, just as Ariel serves Prospero while dreaming of his freedom. 

2.6 Silence is a Sense: Colonization of the Unknown Narrator's Mind 

"No one is truly voiceless … Either they silence you, or you silence yourself " (Al Ammar, 

2021). 

The aforementioned quotation encapsulates the fundamental idea that silence is not an 

absence of voice, but rather a result of external influences or internalized subjugation. 

Oppressed characters feel utterly silenced in both Silence is a Sense and The Tempest, yet 

the idea of speech persists throughout. In The Tempest, Ariel's voice is taken away by 

Prospero, an outside force; in Silence is a Sense, the protagonist, a refugee, puts her voice 

down as a reaction to the trauma she has experienced and the immense stress she has been 

under since her displacement. The two works show how a person might be silenced in 

two ways: either by an oppressor (a colonizer) or by themselves, for the sake of survival. 

As mentioned earlier, the Unknown Narrator is a refugee who has fled war-torn Syria in 

search of safety in the West. She shares similar emotions with Ariel, feeling displaced, 

alienated, and traumatized, which prevents her from feeling at home in her new 

environment. Khalaf (2022) assumed that, like Ariel, who is trapped on an island that is 

not truly her home, the narrator finds herself in a place where she does not truly belong. 

She is rejected by the Western society she has fled to and is unable to return to her 

previous life in Syria. The colonization in the Unknown Narrator case is mental, taking 



28 

on a psychological dimension. Despite the relative safety of her new home, her trauma, 

displacement, and isolation form psychological colonization that prevents her from 

feeling free. In contrast, Ariel’s servitude in The Tempest is physical. The narrator’s past 

experiences have created mental chains that prevent her from breaking free from the 

influence of her memories and fears, similar to Ariel's subjugation under Prospero's 

control. 

2.7 Investigation of Shakespearean intertextuality in the context of silence 

"Pardon, master; / I will be correspondent to command / And do my spiriting gently" 

(Shakespeare, 2014). 

The exploration of silence and speech is a fundamental motif in the literary works of Al 

Ammar novels and Shakespeare's The Tempest since both intentionally use silence as a 

device of resistance. Ariel's silence in The Tempest is a result of her subjugation, which 

prohibits her from speaking unless authorized by Prospero (Bouchebouche & Abutaleb, 

2023). Likewise, in both The Pact We Made and Silence is a Sense, silence is used as a 

method of oppression. Although Dahlia's voice is repressed by societal conventions, the 

Unknown Narrator in Silence is a Sense intentionally opts for silence as a method of 

coping with her anguish (Shaffi, 2019). Al Ammar used intertextuality to make a 

correlation between the absence of speech among her female characters and Ariel's 

inability to speak orally. Just as Ariel used her silence as a means of defying Prospero's 

rule, Dahlia and the Unknown Narrator use their silence as a strategy to maintain a certain 

level of autonomy. This intertextual metaphor epitomizes the subtle acts of resistance that 

Ariel does against Prospero's authority. Notably, the novel, focused on an unnamed 

refugee protagonist, delves into the lasting effects of colonialism, particularly the 

experiences of marginalized individuals who are often suppressed even inside their own 

societies (Khalaf, 2022). 

Igbaria (2024) reaffirmed the need to bring attention to the problem of colonialism that 

affected women. Beyond the social and political variables that govern the physical 

embodiment and verbal expression of female characters in Al-Ammar's works, patriarchal 

institutions colonize these characters. More than that, it influences other parts of the life 

of the characters. "I would make my decision based on their voices. Nothing more… 



29 

Pausing just around the corner, I would wait for the man to speak, and then I’d make my 

judgment" (Al Ammar, 2019, p. 49). 

In The Pact We Made, Dahlia's family and society exercise dominance over her choices 

in marriage. By virtue of her status as a refugee, the Unknown Narrator in Silence is a 

Sense undergoes a kind of colonization in which her body and speech are subjected to 

external forces, whether they be physical (her new community) or psychological (her 

trauma). The signal from Ariel suggests that colonization encompasses not only the 

acquisition of land or political dominance but also the manipulation of physical bodies 

and identities, particularly those of women (Djohar, Budiantari, Ni’mah, & Farezi, 2023). 

 

 

 

 

 

  



30 

Chapter Three 

Intertextuality and Mental Breakdown: Rape Trauma Syndrome 

3.1 Introduction  

People may experience a mental breakdown if their emotional and mental well-being 

deteriorates to an intolerable degree as a result of intense psychological pressures or 

violent shocks (Spytska, 2024). A mental breakdown can be precipitated by a traumatic 

incident, such as rape or assault, and its symptoms include detachment from reality, a lack 

of control, insomnia, and difficulties in concentration. In severe instances, this disorder 

can develop into post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is characterized by a wide 

range of anxious and sad sensations and complex psychological experiences (Van Der 

Kolk, 2014).  

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in the setting of sexual assault is another name 

for the severe psychological breakdown that can result from experiencing sexual violence, 

which is known as Rape Trauma Syndrome (Dworkin, Jaffe, & Bedard-Gilligan, 2021). 

The psychological and physiological health of individuals who experience this form of 

trauma is profoundly affected. Symptoms can manifest in several ways; for example, 

having dreams or flashbacks that relive the traumatic event, experiencing severe fear, 

avoiding places or people associated with the event, and generally lacking trust in oneself 

and others. Disconnectedness or "self-destruction" can set in when trauma survivors feel 

emotionally distant from themselves and others (O'Doherty, et al., 2023). 

3.2 English Literature's Representation of Post-Rape Trauma 

The complex psychological and social impacts of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) 

on survivors have been thoroughly explored in various literary works written in English 

throughout history (Kucmin, 2021). Reading the works of famous authors who have 

examined the emotional fallout of trauma has offered readers a window into the 

pervasiveness of this condition, illuminating the nuances of psychological anguish, 

shame, and the search for personal healing. In addition to being a plot element, this theme 

helps bring attention to the effects of sexual abuse and encourages empathy and 

understanding (Akcesme, 2018). 



31 

Because of societal and cultural taboos, such as the difficulty in openly discussing the 

psychological anguish of rape, Elizabethan literature mostly dealt with violent and 

treacherous themes symbolically (Schnabel, 2006). For example, William Shakespeare 

creatively dealt with comparable suffering and psychological collapse (Robinson, 1991). 

Consider Shakespeare's portrayal of the effects of trauma on Lucrece, the heroine of “The 

Rape of Lucrece”, who suffers at the hands of Tarquin, 

"My honour I'll bequeath unto the knife 

That wounds my body so dishonored" (Shakespeare, 2008, L1033).  

The text portrays Lucrece's psychological anguish, from her sensations of humiliation and 

estrangement to her resolve to take her life. This symbolic expression highlights the 

difficulty women faced during that period in surviving such tragedies . Shakespeare 

succeeded in making his audience feel sorry for victims of sexual assault using dramatic 

and metaphorical means; this paved the way for authors of subsequent centuries to delve 

more deeply into issues of psychological damage (Blum, 2000).  

Within the bounds of Victorian-era social conventions, sexual trauma was delicately but 

frequently alluded to or addressed in English literature. Consider the work of Charlotte 

Brontë, Jane Eyre (1847) — Jane Eyre, the protagonist of the novel, was a juvenile victim 

of abuse and neglect. At a low-income school, Jane endured psychological and physical 

abuse, which left her with terrible experiences of being publicly humiliated, unjustly 

punished, and physically restrained (Al Khafagy, 2022). Despite the fact that sexual abuse 

is not explicitly mentioned in the novel, Brontë (1847) shows how trauma and poverty 

affected Jane's mental and emotional health:  

My heart beat thick, my head grew hot; a sound filled my ears, which I deemed 

the rushing of wings: something seemed near me; I was oppressed, suffocated: 

endurance broke down; I uttered a wild, involuntary cry (Brontë, 1847, p. 96). 

Writing about the psychological effects of rape became more open and in-depth in the 

20th century. Literary classics such as Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf,  

"He was not in the war. He had lost his mind. And that was it. He was in the war" (Virginia 

Woolf, 1925, p. 51). Despite being a war survivor, Woolf's character Septimus Warren 



32 

Smith shows how trauma can be through his struggles with depression and dissociation. 

Sushma (2022) argues that,  

The devastation forces a society to deal with issues like post-traumatic stress 

disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, and other physical and mental disorders. 

The works of Virginia Woolf are a reflection of 20th-century sensibility. Her 

novels helped raise people's awareness of the unfathomable pain and tragedy of 

war. The writings that were published in the years between the two world wars 

clearly reflect the stress and crisis brought on by slaughter and destruction [...] 

There was disillusionment during this period.[...] People had grown ethically 

blind and had lost every sense of morality and spirituality [...] The First World 

War completely damaged men's sense of ethics. Numerous young soldiers took 

part in the battle. Although they were physically hurt when they returned, society 

did not treat them with respect or provide them with any benefits. They 

consequently experienced emotional harm after returning. This picture destroyed 

all of the moral and societal commitments that people had. While industries 

expanded, moral standards in people's hearts continued to decline (Sushma, 

2022, p. 129).  

The victim's psychological path toward healing and empowerment is increasingly 

highlighted in contemporary literary works as it pertains to post-rape trauma. The 

autobiography Lucky (1999) by Alice Sebold details the devastating psychological impact 

of an assault that the author herself endured. "I had lost my mind, I had lost my faith, and 

I had lost myself" (Sebold, 1999, p. 8). Here, Sebold tells her story honestly, discussing 

the psychological damage she endured after the attack and how she eventually healed and 

took back her life. 

In other words, the representation of post-rape trauma in English literature has undergone 

a remarkable transformation, moving away from covert and invisible approaches and 

toward more direct and compassionate examinations. Literature not only reflects society's 

attitudes but also challenges assumptions and expands the discussion surrounding trauma 

by tracing its evolution via works from different periods. 

  



33 

3.3 The Theme of Rape Trauma Syndrome in Shakespeare's The Tempest 

Shakespeare demonstrates how Prospero, Miranda's father, is changed by the event of 

Caliban's attempted rape of his daughter. The event gives Prospero an obvious moral 

viewpoint on good and evil, and he associates Caliban with ugliness and evil. Therefore, 

he depicted him as: 

"A devil, a born devil, on whose nature 

Nurture can never stick; on whom my pains, 

Humanely taken, all, all lost, quite lost ! 

And as with age his body uglier grows , 

So his mind cankers" (Shakespeare, 1958, pp. 188-192). 

The interconnected histories of Prospero, Caliban, and Miranda in Shakespeare's The 

Tempest demonstrate the multiplicity and interconnectedness of the ways in which 

victims of violence and stigma are impacted. Prospero has a dual response ready for 

Caliban's attack on Miranda. He responds quickly and rationally at first, punishing 

Caliban by isolating him and making him labor. The rationale behind this severe 

punishment is that it will deter Caliban from harming Miranda in the future and force him 

to make restitution to society.  

"I pitied thee , 

Took pains to make thee speak, taught thee each hour 

One thing or other: when thou didst not, savage, 

Know thine own meaning, but wouldst gabble like 

A thing most brutish, I endow'd thy purposes 

With words that made them known. But thy vile race , 

Though thou didst learn, had that in't which good natures 

Could not abide to be with” (Shakespeare, 1958, pp. 352-359). 

This ties Prospero's confidence in the justification of his punishment to Caliban's nature, 

namely his perception of his innate corruption. However, as time goes on, Prospero starts 



34 

to view Caliban not as a redeemable human being but as a flawed human being whose 

acts stem from an innately corrupt character, according to (Wilson, 2018).  

Miranda, the protagonist of Shakespeare's The Tempest, represents virtue and innocence 

in contrast to the turmoil of complex fabric and violence that surrounds her. The play does 

not depict any actual sexual assault on Miranda; however, Caliban's efforts to take favor 

of her raise symbolic issues about the rape of innocence and mind and body control. As 

a concept pertinent to the psychological impacts of such assaults, the rape of innocence 

represents the repression of one's dignity and autonomy, and this tension between Caliban 

and Miranda illustrates Shakespeare's perspective of human inclinations (Kunat, 2014). 

“Thou didst prevent me; I had peopled else  

This isle with Calibans" (Shakespeare, 2014, pp. 350-351). 

In the aforementioned remarks, Caliban expresses his disappointment in his children's 

ability to inherit the island and his resentment toward Prospero and Miranda for enslaving 

him. As Caliban reclaims the island he wrongfully lost, the remark brings attention to 

issues of colonization, power, and displacement. It highlights his wild and unruly side 

and echoes his rebellion and anger . 

3.4 Rape Trauma Syndrome in Al-Ammar's Silence is a Sense 

The subject of psychological breakdown is thoroughly examined in Silence is a Sense. 

The protagonist's anguish following an assault depicts her breakdown. Using modern 

literary devices to portray psychological estrangement, solitude, and stillness, the book 

examines the psychological anguish that follows the assault (Al-Mousawi, 2021). By 

utilizing intertextuality, Al-Ammar incorporates the perspectives of historically isolated 

characters, like Miranda and Caliban in Shakespeare's The Tempest, into modern people, 

imbuing them with a fresh dimension that mirrors the realities faced by individuals who 

have survived horrific tragedies.  

The protagonist of Silence is a Sense confirms “Silence is my language now. It is safer, a 

way of hiding” (Al Ammar, 2021, p. 142). In order to cope with the agony she felt after 

the assault, the silent protagonist investigates the characteristics of disconnection from 

oneself and quiet. The heroine, a refugee in a new nation, United States, struggles to trust 

people and communicate with them. This is shown in hear saying: 



35 

I arrived in this country with nothing but a suitcase and a heart full of fear. This 

place is supposed to be a sanctuary, but I can’t shake the feeling that I am 

invisible here—seen only through the lens of my foreignness (Al Ammar, 2021, 

p. 87). 

She has a hard time adjusting to her new life and returning to her old one, so the silence 

she feels is more than a lack of want to talk. It is a psychological distancing caused by a 

profound trauma (Bouchebouche & Abutaleb, 2023). Similar to Miranda's secluded 

existence in The Tempest, where she has no knowledge of the outside world, "O brave 

new world that has such people in’t!" (5.1, 183) which serves as a kind of self-defense 

but also separates her from reality. Both characters inhabit an insular "island" that they 

find difficult to escape. 

"I have done nothing but in care of thee, 

Of thee, my dear one, thee my daughter, who 

Art ignorant of what thou art" (Shakespeare, 1958, pp. 17-19). 

In this quote, Prospero says to Miranda, reflecting her lack of awareness and isolation, 

and hinting at the psychological barriers she has created around herself. In other words, 

Prospero addresses Miranda, highlighting her naiveté and ignorance regarding her real 

identity and their common history. As the secluded daughter of the Duke of Milan, 

Miranda grew up on the island in complete ignorance of her noble pedigree, and the 

phrase "art ignorant of what thou art" symbolizes this. This phrase emphasizes the mental 

and physical difficulties that Miranda faces as a result of her isolation from the outside 

world. She did not intentionally choose to be ignorant; rather, Prospero has chosen to 

keep her in the dark about their history, which he is now starting to expose. Calling her 

"dear one" highlights Prospero's nurturing nature while simultaneously implying his 

dominance over her intelligence and viewpoint.  

"Abhorred slave,  

Which any print of goodness wilt not take, 

Being capable of all ill!" (Shakespeare, 2014). 

Besides, Prospero, in this quote, characterizes Caliban as a hideous and repulsive slave 

devoid of virtue, underscoring his obsessive and domineering disposition, while 



36 

accentuating the disparity between Miranda's inherent purity and Caliban's belligerent 

conduct. Most importantly, postcolonial critics contend that the depiction of Caliban as 

hopelessly flawed serves to legitimize his enslavement and punishment. On the other 

hand, some interpretations cast doubt on Miranda's moral certainty, arguing that her 

opinion of Caliban is influenced by Prospero and her narrow perspective on the universe. 

In a nutshell, Laila Al-Ammar paints a realistic image of the mental collapse that follows 

trauma via the intertextuality between The Tempest and Silence is a Sense. She offers a 

potent model for comprehending psychological trauma through the eyes of literary 

characters by highlighting the heroine's repercussions of rape through her use of silence 

and disconnection from reality. 

3.5 In Al-Ammar's The Pact We Made 

 “I carry my past like a weight, heavy and invisible, yet it colors every interaction, every 

breath” (Al Ammar, 2019, p. 14). 

Through her experiences, the heroine Dahlia suffers from mental breakdown brought by 

the trauma of rape. As the past holds her down and becomes an overwhelming obstacle, 

the narrative depicts how this breakdown influences her day-to-day actions and choices 

(Djohar, Budiantari, Ni’mah, & Farezi, 2023). Her feelings of inability to verbalize her 

pain clarified in her sayings: 

“The words sat heavy in my chest, like stones pressing on my ribs. I wanted to scream, 

but all that came out was silence” (Al Ammar, 2019, p. 18). 

“It wasn’t just the act itself—it was the aftermath, the shame, the questions I didn’t have 

answers to, the way people looked at me when they knew” (Al Ammar, 2019, p. 32). 

“Making a decision, even a simple one, felt like standing on the edge of a cliff. What if I 

jumped and the ground disappeared beneath me? (Al Ammar, 2019, p. 58). 

 This plays out similarly to Prospero's condition in The Tempest, when he tries to reclaim 

power and control following his banishment, emphasizing the sense of helplessness he 

feels due to events beyond his control, saying: 

 “In my false brother 



37 

Awaked an evil nature, and my trust, 

Like a good parent, did beget of him 

A falsehood in its contrary as great 

As my trust was—which had indeed no limit, 

A confidence sans bound” (Shakespeare, 1958, p. 25).  

 Dahlia , too, is caught between the past that has shaped her life and the future that she 

cannot predict. Furthermore, Dahlia has a hard time opening up to those closest to her 

about what happened and how she feels (Djohar, Budiantari, Ni’mah, & Farezi, 2023). 

She said illustrating her refusal to trust her family: "My mother’s questions hovered 

around me like a swarm of bees, but I couldn’t let her sting me with the truth. I kept my 

silence, knowing she wouldn’t understand" (Al Ammar, 2019, p. 72). Also, she reveals 

the struggle inside herself: “I wanted to tell them, to scream it out loud, but the words 

stayed stuck in my throat, a lump I couldn’t swallow or expel" (Al Ammar, The Pact We 

Made, 2019, p. 12). Like Miranda, who spent a great deal of time alone on an island and 

was thus unable to readily comprehend people and their motivations (Kunat, 2014), 

Dahlia suffers from an inner stillness and social distance. She said: "The silence of my 

room was my only refuge. It was easier to be alone than to pretend I belonged in a world 

I no longer recognized" (Al Ammar, 2019, p. 14). Dahlia becomes emotionally isolated 

after enduring a tragic event, which causes her interactions with others to become fraught 

with tension and uncertainty. This is illustrated when she says, "I am not sure who I am 

anymore; I am fragments of a person I used to be" (Al Ammar, 2019, p. 36). 

Al-Ammar emphasizes the feelings of shame and humiliation that Dahlia experiences. 

Despite the fact that she holds nothing to blame for her history, Dahlia avoids discussing 

it due to her overwhelming feelings of guilt (Djohar, Budiantari, Ni’mah, & Farezi, 2023). 

This sentiment is reflected in her thoughts: “It wasn’t my fault, I knew that. But knowing 

and feeling are two different things. The shame clung to me, unshakable, like a shadow I 

could never outrun" (Al Ammar, 2019, p. 27). In Caliban side, these sentiments are 

comparable to the inner turmoil that he goes through in the play. Like him, he feels guilty 

because other people see him as a "monster" or an "other", which further isolates him 

psychologically (Kunat, 2014). This is shown when Trinculo said, 



38 

What have we here? a man or a fish? dead or alive? A fish: he smells like a fish; 

a very ancient and fish-like smell… Legged like a man! and his fins like arms! 

Warm o' my troth! I do now let loose my opinion, hold it no longer: this is no 

fish, but an islander that hath lately suffer’d by a thunderbolt (Shakespeare, 1958, 

pp. 24-30).  

Here, by drawing comparisons to a fish and highlighting Caliban's repulsive smell and 

appearance, Trinculo casts doubt on Caliban's humanity. The vocabulary used to describe 

Caliban suggests colonial views of the indigenous "other", suggesting that he is hideous, 

unnatural, and beneath humanity. Caliban is further diminished to his body and the 

perceived calamities of his life when Trinculo calls him an "islander" who has "lately 

suffered by a thunderbolt," further marginalizing Caliban. These threads also touch on the 

ways in which people become psychologically isolated when they internalize the 

identities that society gives them (Burnett, 2020). Similar to what Dahlia goes through in 

The Pact We Made, this reflects how outside opinions can worsen trauma and emotions 

of isolation. Just as Caliban finds himself psychologically imprisoned by the contempt 

and dehumanization he encounters, Dahlia 's internal battle with guilt and humiliation 

arises from social stigma and her sense of how others perceive her. In short, Caliban and 

Dahlia both show how colonial and cultural factors amplify the internal struggles of 

people who are considered "other," demonstrating how dehumanization and stigma may 

linger for a long time. 

3.6 Conclusion 

This chapter has examined post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and psychological 

Mental breakdown, Many works employ intertextuality to emphasize the anguish of 

victims, and literature has dealt with the symbolic and dramatic aspects of psychological 

trauma following rape. All three of these works—The Tempest, Silence is a Sense, and 

The Pact We Made—show how trauma is multifaceted and how it changes a person's 

mind over time. In Shakespeare's The Tempest, Caliban's mental misery serves as a 

metaphor for the identity crisis and psychological pain that trauma survivors endure. This 

shows how oppression and abuse may have far-reaching and enduring effects on a 

person's mental health. Similar to Silence is a Sense and The Pact We Made, the play's 

intertextual layers show how trauma and violence may destroy a person's sense of self. 



39 

In Layla Al Ammar's Silence is a Sense (2021), a modern take on trauma, the author uses 

silence as a symbol of the suppressed feelings and broken sense of self that result from 

experiencing violence. A lot of people who have survived post-traumatic stress disorder 

(PTSD) have felt the protagonist's emotional isolation and incapacity to communicate. Al 

Ammar’s The Pact We Made (2019) also explores trauma's aftereffects, showing how 

difficult it is to rebuild one's self-esteem and social standing following exposure to violent 

acts. As a result of her use of intertextuality, Al Ammar shows how society forces 

contribute to the difficulties of recovering from trauma.  

These works use intertextuality to show the psychological wounds that remain long after 

the traumatic events have happened, as well as the raw emotional form of trauma. Literary 

depictions of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and mental breakdown provide a 

nuanced and multidimensional look at trauma, showing the personal and societal ways in 

which it affects people. These texts provide a compelling story of perseverance, hardship, 

and the difficult road to recovery via their complex use of intertextual linkages. 

  



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Chapter Four 

Intertextuality Presents Recognition of Self and Emphasizes the Gaze 

of Others and Reputation 

4.1 Introduction  

Julia Kristeva coined the term "intertextuality" in 1966, and since then, it has become 

popular in contemporary writing. Yet this term has been so varied in its usage and 

adaptations that it needs restating and reiterating the several definitions linked with it, 

with an emphasis on its function in contemporary literary theory. A text is said to be 

intertextual if it has a dialogical relationship with other texts, both previous and 

subsequent. Consequently, intertextuality establishes a web of many literary works 

authored by diverse individuals from diverse nations, cultures, and time periods. By 

"recasting the original text," intertextuality refers to the multi-faceted process of 

incorporating one text into another (Juvan, 2009). Textual elements that exhibit 

intertextuality include allusions, myths, motifs, and so on. Because of its archetypal 

character, intertextuality embeds the text within the ongoing cultural heritage of a whole 

civilization and the canon of world literature. Based on the semantic viewpoints, 

intertextuality serves to construct a text by means of quoting other (Zengin, 2016). 

4.2 The Concept of Literary Self and Self-Recognition 

We may assert that the concept of "self" cannot detach itself from its philosophical roots, 

which have been explored since the dawn of its inception. Michel Foucault