Princess Book Review

The title Princess, though seemingly enticing and safe, is rather the opposite and tells a tale of brutal oppression that females of the Muslim faith endure on a daily basis.  Sultana, a feisty Princess of the Royal Family in Saudi Arabia whose life this biography revolves around, secretly indulges her audience in the truth of what it is like to grow up and live in the walls of a beautiful palace that more closely resembles a jail of discouragement and sacrifice.  Through Sultana’s gripping story one can begin to see clearly what the Muslim traditions of Saudi Arabia represent and how the women are cruelly controlled in a world where male dominance is the strictly followed word of Allah (God).

Princess is written by Jean P. Sasson (Sultana’s American friend) to keep the real identity of Sultana a secret so she is not punished by the males in her family or society.  The book starts in childhood and follows Sultana through motherhood.  Although this book mainly focuses on her Royal Family, the book also strips away the cloak of secrecy shrouding the truths of some of the most frightening stories ever to be revealed from women in the midst of it all.

While remaining informative and compelling, this novel also manages to be an incredibly easy read because of the fact that the author does not waste her words and tells things as they are.  The story was so crushing and I was flabbergasted at the way the women were treated having grown up with our revered freedom given to every American citizen (male or female).  The author bluntly states by the seventh page, “And so it comes to be that women in my land are ignored by their father, scorned by their brothers, and abused by their husbands” (7).  The audience of this book sees this sad fact to be true as Sultana shares her story of life as a slave to men starting with a story about her only brother, Ali.  Ali, because he is a male, gets everything he could ever possibly want. Even if he does something awful, his sisters are most always the scapegoats for his wrongdoings.  This proves to be the case as a kind Pakistani cook grants a young Sultana with a shiny apple and after refusing to hand it over to her brother, he unthinkingly slaps her to the ground.  Even after Sultana explains that it was her apple to begin with, her father lashes out with harsh punishments by taking away all her toys and allowing Ali to control what she eats.  By appealing to the readers through her use of pathos by telling stories such as these, Sasson is undeniably triggering emotions and therefore, hoping to stick in the minds of her audience long after she is finished saying what she has to say.  She wants to make her point very clear, and with such heart wrenching matter, she is easily able to do so. 

This book also ignites and uncovers the inner woman’s rights activist in any reader with a compassionate heart.  As is the Muslim tradition, after menstruation begins, the new woman is forced to veil so that she is seen as one who is worthy and ready to be a wife.  Sultana states, “Life changed quickly.  I entered the souq area as an individual bursting with life, my face expressing my emotions to the world.  I left the shopping area covered from head to toe, a faceless creature in black” (79).  The fact that women must cover their faces seems demeaning especially when they are forced to go out into the burning sun with a black veil that is absorbing every ray of heat.  Their male counterparts, on the other hand, breeze through life in whatever garments they feel will be most comfortable for them while forcing their women to drown in a sea of black.  The mistreatment doesn’t stop there, but is rather never-ending and involves polygamy, abuse (mentally, emotionally, physically, and sexually), and webs of complex lies and hatred.  As Sultana’s philosophic side comes out, she has Sasson reveal that, “By treating women as slaves, as property, men have made themselves as unhappy as the women they rule, and have made love and true companionship unattainable to both sexes” (7).

There is nothing that is too shameful for Sasson to write about and through this blunt narrative we begin to see Sultana as one who longs to be free, but never will.  Her luckless story is one that can only be described as a tragedy.  This book is an absolute must-read because it is fast-moving, raw, and crafted to perfection.  It sheds light on the true fault of men is their need for dominion over women and only when the cycle of gender slavery ends can the world truly succeed.  Women, as we see in countries such as America, are just as good as men.  They are smart, brilliant human beings and in my thoughts, God (if there is such a force or being) would never subject the females of the world to be subservient to males.  This kind of hatred needs to end, but Sultana says that we, as free women, make it worse, so the question really is: if this can be fixed, how?