What a Woman Should be Like: A Critical Review of Two Self-Help Books Written by Sara Sabri Cover Image

Kakvom ženom treba biti: Kritički osvrt na dvije knjige samopomoći Sare Sabri
What a Woman Should be Like: A Critical Review of Two Self-Help Books Written by Sara Sabri

Author(s): Emina Osmić-Hajdarević
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies, Gender Studies, Studies of Literature, Bosnian Literature, Sociology of Culture
Published by: BZK "Preporod" Brčko distrikt Bosne i Hercegovine
Keywords: self-help; identity; essentialism; constructivism; feminist thery; Sabri; Bosniak;
Summary/Abstract: Sara Sabri’s pseudonym is Sanela Karišik-Begovic, Sandzak/BH author. Books Šapućem ti kao Sara Sabri1 and Šapućem ti kao majka majci can be classified in the genre of self-help, because we can read the intent to influence the attitudes of the recipient. Therefore, Sara Sabri’s books are participants in the construction of identity of Bosniaks outside the very text. Books of Sara Sabri consist of short texts that appear to touch upon various topics. Texts can be characterized as a short meditation on the various phenomena in the society, but the most common topics are the role of women as mothers and wives and relations with a spouse. In accordance to the anti-essentialist concept of identity as a construction and to the feminist theory, in this work we critically analyze Sara Sabris’s texts in mentioned books, especially relying on the Lawrence Grossberg’s definition of text interpretiation in which the interpretation of the texts is understood as a struggle of people “not only to make out what the text means, but also to impute meaning as something that will connect with their lives, experiences, needs and preferences”.

  • Page Range: 251-260
  • Page Count: 10
  • Publication Year: 2017
  • Language: Bosnian