Analyzing the Position of Women in the Novel Bread on the Table of Al-Khal Milad by Mohammad Al-Naas Based on the Frankfurt School of Critical Aesthetics

The novel Bread on Uncle Milad's Table, which was selected for the 2022 Arab Booker and is written by the contemporary Libyan writer Mohammad Al-Naas, is characterized by its critique of the role of women in Libyan society. In a society characterized by a patriarchal culture and a gendered perspective on women, this novel features a substantial number of female characters who express their conditions, opinions, and thoughts. The novel posits that the root of the women’s helplessness is patriarchy, which impedes the development of their talents. The novel also includes bitter descriptions of the women and their fate. In light of the critical perspective of Mohammad Al-Naas in the context of the aforementioned novel and the Frankfurt School’s critical aesthetic perspective that art and literature should fight against the existing conditions with a negative and oppositional approach to achieve the desired conditions, we decided to write the novel. We will analyze it in a descriptive-analytical manner in accordance with this theory. This article is an endeavor to investigate and analyze this critical perspective. The research results indicate that Mohammad Al-Naas’s perspective is in alignment with the Frankfurt School's critical approach. He has critiqued the status of women in society with the intention of informing society and enhancing their status, albeit from a negative and opposing perspective. He criticizes the ruling patriarchal system and the oppressions that have been inflicted on women by juxtaposing traditional and modern women in his narrative. He attempts to inform the women and men of his society about their position by enlisting the assistance of male characters in their opposition to the patriarchal system. A woman’s significant function in society and the family.