Critics’ Reception of Women’s Novels in Saudi Arabia

This paper examines how male critics in Saudi Arabia received the pre-1980 works of female novelists their critical studies. It seeks to explain why many and Arab literary either ignored or decried these pioneering novels by highlighting essential criteria they adopted evaluation criticism such texts. establishes that were poorly received—and unjustly so—compared those written men same period. Male subconsciously dismissed disregarded on grounds limited quality, did not belong what was accepted as social cultural environment, represent reality women’s lives. Many would have been characterized having no artistic value failing had core evaluative early works. KEYWORDS Cultural criticism; gender bias; environment; literature; novel; writing