Travel Littérature and Orientalisme in The Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence Durrel

Abstract

Orientalism is a large field of study; many intellectuals examined it from many angles and from different perspectives, and the problematic was to identify Orientalism’s origins. This is due to the different beliefs amongst Westerners and Easterners. Orientalism means also the Creation of false images about the Orient. These images Spread and evolved duo to Travel writing which is a popular literary genre. Its motives are different, though the dominant ones are of political nature. Frequently, the traveler starts his voyage from a strong nation searching for hilarious or strange resources for his countrymen readers. The Orient seemed to be the mysterious and fascinating land which inspired many Western travel writers. One of these European travelers who marked Twentieth Century British literature is Lawrence Durrell. His novels Justine, Balthazar, Mountolive and Clea named The Alexandria Quartet represent the connection between European characters and East, Egypt. A profound examination displays that The Alexandria Quartet is a model of literary Orientalism in which Egyptians are described through European vision denying the option of self-depiction. This set of novels represents Oriental subjects as defaced figures, and Egyptian characters as ones who to be neglected.