ement starts out with the narrator, whom we assume is the author. She titles it The Two Strangers. It is a story about the two men that she fell in love with. Both of them gave her life meaning because they gave her the power to be visible. They implored her and cared about how she felt and she loved them for that. The first voice in that movement is the voice of a woman named Cherifa. She talks about her traumatic experiences with the French burning down their houses and how they killed her brother. The second movement starts out with the narrator, which she titles the Trance. She talks about witnessing these frightful chants that her grandmother was involved in, she describes it like this: At first choking cries came thick and fast, jostling each other, then they swelled and swirled in spinning spirals, intersecting arches, tapering to needle points. The old lady gave up the struggle, surrendering herself completely to the insistent beat of the blind womans drum: all the voices of the past, imprisoned in her present existence, were now set free and leapt far away from her (Djebar144) At first this ceremonial chant was a mystery. By watching her grandmother though she knew that this chant was a way of freeing and protesting the way she feels. She then realized that out of all the women, her grandmother was really the only one who never complained. The reason is because all her frustrations were taken out on these ceremonial chants. The second voice we hear is the voice of a woman named Sahraoui Zorah. She talks about treason, the house burnings, and the hidings that she went through. The third, fourth and fifth movements the widow speaks, with other intervening voices. In these movements the cries of rape, torture and silence are heard.In order to understand Arab traditions the author creates the chapter Aphasia of Love, meaning silence of love. I had passed the age of puberty without being buried in the harem like my girl...
