Errance existentielle, mémoire du corps et langage primordial dans N’zid de Malika Mokeddem
Existential wandering, body memory, and primordial language in Malika Mokeddem’s N’zid

Summary/Abstract: This article explores a phenomenological outlook in the work of Algerian writer Malika Mokeddem. Such an approach departs from the standard scholarship on this author and proposes a wide-ranging alternative to postcolonial studies. The themes of nomadism, language of origin and corporeal expression are investigated through the lens of Merleau-Ponty’s “chair” and the pairing notions of “parole parlante” and “parole parlée.” A strong case study can be made with her novel N’zid (2001), which exploits the amnesia of the female protagonist sailing alone on the Mediterranean Sea, castaway from human interactions and without clues of her whereabouts. Inside and outside worlds meet up as she embarks on a silent journey to her innermost self and physical fantasies. Through uninhibited drawings and by reminiscing sensual flashbacks, she soothes her impaired memory and seizes back her blurred identity.

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