The present paper is concerned with the analysis of Identity and Difference in Abdelkebir Khatibi' Love in Two Languages. The choice of this topic derives its relevance and significance from the fact that the question of Identity and difference is a central and fundamental issue in Katibi's writing in general. More important, the relevance of this question is evident when it is discussed by a Moroccan intellectual who is involved in an historical context that situates Morocco at the crosswords of civilisations, languages, and societies, and that favours at the same time, the interaction of western languages and cultures with Arabo-Berber ones.
The aim of this paper is to show how Khatibi articulates a dynamic way of thinking about identity and difference. More important, the paper tries to show how Khatibi dramatises the question of identity and difference through the relationship between the bilingual narrator and the foreign woman. Khatibi's novel is an expression of a Moroccan identity that is realized through "the affirmation of a difference", "an openness to plurality and a free subversion of the powers that in here in discourse".
Last modified: 7 May 2001