The Image of Woman between Alienation and Dual Belonging in Inaam Kachachi’s the American Granddaughter

Abstract

This study examines the image of woman between alienation and dual belonging in Inaam Kachachi’s the American Granddaughter. It offers a narrative-analytical reading of the ways in which the female figure is represented within the context of the American occupation of Iraq and its effects on identity, memory, and belonging. The study focuses on Zeina Behnam as a model of fragmented identity, torn between her Iraqi origin and her acquired American affiliation, and between institutional loyalty to the American forces and emotional belonging to Iraq. It also examines Grandmother Rahma as a contrasting female image that embodies national memory, moral stability, and attachment to homeland. The study goes beyond thematic analysis by investigating the narrative and artistic techniques used to construct the image of woman, including dialogue, internal monologue, place, memory, symbolism, and character contrast. By relying on textual evidence from the novel, the study concludes that the novel does not present woman as an isolated social or feminist subject, but as a central narrative and symbolic figure through which the crisis of identity, alienation, and dual belonging is revealed in post-occupation Iraq.