Fatima Mernissi preserves the feeling of an autobiography by keeping the main character named after herself. For the sake of clarity when referring to the author I will use only her last name. Mernissi’s novel begins with Fatima as a child. Throughout the novel she grows to the age of nine, but that is where the story ends. The first few years of Fatima’s life seem to have been the most crucial in determining what kind of person she was destined to become. Fatima’s experiences in her childhood are dramatic and influence her enough that her life changes drastically. Early in the novel Mernissi states, “when you hurt a woman you are violating Allah’s sacred frontier” (3). This statement helps to set the tone for the novel. Mernissi stresses the importance of women by summoning Allah’s support for her assertion. From this we know that Mernissi will be honest and passionate about her life. Mernissi also states that “looking for the frontier has become my life’s occupation. Anxiety eats at me whenever I cannot situate the geometric line organizing my powerlessness” (3). Again this looks to the future and accentuates the changes Mernissi’s life takes. As proof that Mernissi’s life changes for the better we look to her future to find out what happens after the age of nine. Mernissi becomes a sociologist at a university in Morocco and a prominent author.
Fatima’s earliest memories begin with restriction and rules. She designed a game for herself because she would wake up before her mother and was not allowed to play with her older cousins because, as her mother put it; “you don’t know how to defend yourself yet. . . even playing is a kind of war” (3-4). Fatima learned from the age of four that her first objective was to be able to defend herself. With this thought as a foundation for growth Fatima was taught to become strong even as a child. The game Fatima designed for herself was also an exercise in meditation that inadvertently developed her mental stamina as well as her intelligence. Her daily practice of silent observation allowed her mind to focus on small details for long periods of time. She was also able to contemplate topics and raise questions that another child her age would never ask.