The First Time in Arab Literature: Queer Characters in The Novels of Ḥudā Barakāt

Ḥudā Barakāt is one of the leading postmodern Arab novelists. Her style, technique and the fact that she is the first writer to touch upon issues such as queer characters, which is foreign to her geography, make her different. Queer is a theory accepted today and is a concept used for non-heterosexual individuals in general. The author has used characters that can fall within the scope of this definition. Although she timidly touched upon the homosexual aspects of her characters, she bravely addressed their sexual problems. This study seeks an answer to the question of whether this theme, which has won the author awards, belongs to the expressions of a writer influenced by populism. It is possible to say that the author sees sexual problems as a psychological illness caused by wars, a reality that has not changed for decades in the geography where she was born. The fact that there is no enough on the Booker Prize-winning author and her works in our country reveals the importance of the subject. Issues such as homosexuality which are global traps are becoming widespread day by day bring rewards to writers. Therefore, it is even more important to emphasise that it is a disease. The scope of the study is determined by the three novels in which the author deals with queer characters. Ḥajar al-Ḍāḥik (The Stone of Laughter), the problem of sexual identity is revealed through Khalil, who has feminine tendencies. At the end of the novel, Khalil turns into a character to whom men express their sexual interests. In Ahl al-Hawā (Disciples of Passion), the secondary feminine identity of the diseased protagonist, who kills the woman he is in love with, overlaps with the masculine identity of his wife. In Barīd al-Layl (Night Mail), the author mentions that an old woman resembles her father in an unpredictable way and that this resemblance does not only remain at the physical level. In this study, text analysis technique was used in accordance with the qualitative research method and it is analysed queer characters, which Ḥudā Barakāt deals with with increasing clarity, is not a coincidence. The author veils this theme caused by the war with other themes and reflects her thoughts on the wars of which she is a victim and her own problems through her characters.