Honor, Face, and Violence : Cross-Cultural Literary Representations of Honor Cultures and Face Cultures

Abstract

Abstract

Honor-related values are a source of gendered inequality and of violence. In so-called honor cultures, traditionally located in parts of the Middle East, Mediterranean regions, North Africa, and South America, honor translates into women's roles as dictated by family ideology. There is a direct link between male reputation and the female body. In these matters, East Asian face cultures are similar to but also different from honor cultures. For the first time, this book studies literary together with sociological representations of the loss of honor and of face. Fiction explores honor-based values which impose shackles not only on female but also on male society members. The book is endorsed with prefaces by Turkish writer Sema Kaygusuz and Chinese scholar Ma Chi.