Le retour des filles prodigues. Dépaysement, extranéité et altérité chez Malika Mokeddem et Kaouther Adimi
The return of the prodigal daughters. Expatriation, extraneity and otherness in the works of Malika Mokeddem and Kaouther Adimi

Summary/Abstract: This article proposes to analyse the novels “L’Interdite” by Malika Mokeddem, “Des pierres dans ma poche” and “L’Envers des autres” by Kaouther Adimi from the perspective of presence of exile and expatriation themes and, corollary, of identity construction. By trying to shed light on the different characters, both female and male, and by drawing parallels and comparisons between the two novelists, we will strive to account for the way in which their characters experience both the distance from their country of origin, Algeria, and the difficult return to their roots. The question of identity thus arises twofold: on the one hand, the feeling of a certain extraneity in relation to others, on whichever side of the Mediterranean they may be, and on the other hand, an identity crisis with respect to oneself (one’s body, one’s gender, one’s psychological links with certain social and cultural constructions). These two aspects are not completely dichotomous, but maintain a very close relationship that is not at all unrelated to the characters’ malaise.

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