Pelacuran sebagai Metafora Keterlemparan Iman dalam Novel Perempuan di Titik Nol Karya Nawal El Saadawi

Abstract

This article views the world of prostitution in Nawal el Saadawi’s novel Perempuan di Titik Nol as a metaphor for the estrangement of faith. This novel does not merely present prostitution as a social or economic practice, but rather as a symbol of the existential alienation of the main female character, Firdaus, from the religious, moral, and humanitarian value systems. Using a qualitative-descriptive approach and interpretative literary analysis, this study explores how faith in the novel experiences a shift in meaning: from essential belief to existential awareness born of suffering. The aim of this study is to interpret how the concept of faith can be degraded (shifting in essence) due to the corrupt power in the literary work. The results show prostitution in the novel functions as a metaphor for the estrangement of faith, namely a condition where does not disappear, but is only uprooted from the system of normative piety and transformed into a symbol of criticism of the corrupt social structure. Where women (at least in the context of this study) are labeled immoral, while men remain protected because of their religious attributes. Meanwhile, the contribution of this study is to reveal various possibilities of the tragedy of faith textually. Not only is it still taboo to discuss the tragedy of faith openly, but it is also a means of translating social criticism through the use of straightforward but scientific language. The concept of faith in this novel appears not as mere ritual obedience, but as existential courage to choose to be free from the tradition of exploiting women wrapped in religion, even in a way that is seen as despicable.