1. Stereotypes in Women at Point Zero
and Their Relation to Firdaus’s Progression
Cindy, Caitlin, Michelle, Spencer, Isaias

2. Men’s Roles in Firdaus’s Life
Abusive
Corrupt
Hypocrites
Sexual aggressors
“I knew I hated him as only a woman can hate a man, as only a slave can hate his master”(130).
“Men impose deception on women and punish them for being deceived, force them down to the lowest level and punish them for falling so low, bind them in marriage and then chastise them with menial service for life, or insults, or blows”(117).
ALL MEN ARE...

3. Uncle
“I could not tell whether he was snoring quietly in his sleep or wide awake and panting, his hand would continue to press against my thigh with a grasping, almost brutal insistence. He was doing to me what Mohammadain had done to me before”(18).
Firdaus learned in her adolescent years that she is unable to trust men and is sexually abused. Her Uncle’s abuse shows the contradiction of a well educated adult figure cannot be trusted and a little girl searching for love and affection blinds her to keep it quiet.

4. Uncle Part 2
“Then he would laugh and explain that El Azhar was only for men. And I would cry, and hold on to his hand as the train started to move. But he would pull it away with a force and suddenness that made me fall flat on my face”(20).
Firdaus Uncle goes and studies at the place called El Azhar and she is told not to expand her knowledge. One of the societal stereotypes that could surface is Men are the only ones that deserve to be educated and women are subpar or inadequate to know what's good for them. Not only is Firdaus abused sexually she is abused physically and is cognitively impaired not knowing who she is or who her family is at the moment.

5. Firdaus Fleas Bayoumi and Fawzy
Evidence
“I ran out of Bayoumi’s house into the street. For the street had become the only safe place in which I could seek refuge, and into which I could escape with my whole being.” (68)
“I walked on the tip of my toes to Sharifa’s room, and found her lying naked with Fawzy at her side. I tiptoed back to my room, put the first dress I could lay my hands on...and hurried down the flights of stairs into the streets.” (82)
At this point in her life, Firdaus handles conflict and entrapment by sneaking away.
Rather than remove the source of abuse in her life, (as she will with Marzouk,) Firdaus responds to the stereotype of violent/sexual male aggression of women by “tiptoeing” her way around it.
El-Saadawi’s characterization of men suggests that women of this society are forced to make themselves smaller and subordinate in order to survive.
El-Saadawi further emphasizes the stereotype of seemingly kind men who rule with overt sexual aggression by characterizing Bayoumi and Fawzy as jealous, tyrannical males.

6. Firdaus’s Betrayal by Ibrahim
-Ibrahim: Solidifies her (justifiable) hatred of men: continual betrayal
In the book Ibrahim is expressed as a well educated man, a so called “revolutionary man”
Firdaus falls in love with Ibrahim because she thinks that he cares for her. But eventually realized that he used her for pleasure.
This makes Firdaus realized that men deceive her so they can get what they want.
“ I had never experienced suffering such as this, never felt a deeper pain. When I was selling my body to men the pain had been much less. It was imaginary, rather than real. As a prostitute I was not myself, my feelings did not arise from within me. They were not really mine. Nothing could really hurt me and make me suffer then the way I was suffering now… ” (116)

7. Firdaus Kills Marzouk: Awakened, Fearless
Evidence
“I knew I hated him as only a woman can hate a man, as only a slave can hate his master.” (130)
“I stuck the knife into almost every part of his body. I was astonished to find how easily my hand moved as I thrust the knife into his flesh.” (130)
“A question flashed through my mind. Why was it that I had never stabbed a man before? I realized that I had been afraid...until the fleeting moment when I read the fear in his eyes.” (130)
When Firdaus is trapped, she no longer attempts to escape. Her decision to kill Marzouk rather than submit to his demands emphasizes the impact of living under an oppositional society and its effect on women. Firdaus’s constant cycle of pain and suppression force her to a position where killing is her only option. The killing of Marzouk, a stereotypical male abuser, is symbolic of Firdaus’s mental emancipation by altering the traditional roles of female ‘slaves’ and male ‘masters.’ By having all of the men group into a single stereotype, El-Saadawi universalizes the habitual suppression of women in 1970’s Egyptian society and emphasizes the feeling of entrapment.
Firdaus differs from other female characters in the novel. Unlike her mother, who has eyes like “two extinguished lamps,” or Sharifa who’s under the domination of her pimp, Firdaus handled entrapment and societal pressures by physically removing them, i.e. she refuses to appease the stereotype in this instance.

8. Firdaus in Prison: Authoritative, Hardened
Evidence
“I am speaking the truth now without any difficulty. For the truth is always easy and simple. And in its simplicity lies a savage power. I only arrived at the savage, primitive truths of life after years of struggle.” (140)
“It is this fearful truth which prevents me from fearing the brutality of rulers and policemen. I spit with ease on their lying faces and words, on their lying newspapers.” (140)
“But with each of the men I ever knew, I was always overcome by a strong desire to lift my arm high up over my head and bring it smashing down on his face.” (139)
Firdaus’s state prior to her execution departs from her initial unawareness and weakness. Firdaus no longer needs someone to “carry” her and recognizes that her life of suffering is the result of living in an oppressive patriarchal society. She is hardened by her traumatic experiences with men, but hesitant to accept human interaction due to her constant cycle of betrayal. El-Saadawi capitalizes on the brutal hypocrisy of men by surrounding Firdaus with characters that fall into a specific, violent stereotype.
Firdaus’s drastic progression emphasized through consistently abusive male characters reveals that the society in which she is raised forces women to endure a cycle of pain and suppression. While Firdaus appears empowered and confident in her knowledge by her execution, this progression is the result of living as a woman in the oppressive society El-Saadawi magnifies.