european journal of social sciences issn: 1450-2267 - EuroJournals

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European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 5, Number 3 (2007) fly, cut myself off completely. I told you, it's a process…and you must…then, you must free yourself, just free yourself from these chains slowly, slowly and gradually. (Hanan) The conflicts which derive from exposure to different cultures and values in her social environment have influenced her identity and are expressed on different levels: on the external level they are expressed between her and her husband, and stem from Hanan’s desire, as expressed in the interview, to change the relations of authority and the alignment of roles in the family; between herself and her female friends due to her different notions and lifestyle. On a different level, there are the interpersonal conflicts , "within myself", which emerge from the conflict between the way she was raised, and the "contact with modernity outside". In order to express her feelings, Hanan uses metaphors. They serve to express abstract concepts or complex ideas, especially connected to human experience, when there are no terms or ready linguistic "formulas" (Taylor, 1995) which can aid her in expressing the ambivalence in her soul The "chains" and the “thread” determine confusion and conflicting needs, the chains which cause her distress at times are viewed as a thread, which constitute a need; and thus, her desire to fly, on the one hand, and her desire to be connected, on the other. At first, the dichotomy between the ‘overt’ identity as influenced by collective traditional norms and the ‘covert’ one embodying personal, individual thoughts, appears powerfully present, only to diminish in intensity as the women outlined the complex influences of the two cultures on their covert inner identity, resulting in interpersonal conflicts and split loyalties. Epilogue: Conflicts and Coherency in Identity Upon their return to their community, the educated women re-encountered the gender norms with a different perspective than the one they had left with. The positive implications of higher education that are constantly described and highlighted by many studies (Aref, 1997; The Carnegie Report and Recommendations on Higher Education, 1973; Ahmad-Fauzia, 2001; Aronhold, 2000; Baburajan, 1998; Bahemuka & Van der Vynct, 2000;, 1978; Jejeebhoy, 1995; Katjavivi, 2000; (Stormquist, 1992; Viveros, 1992) were indeed apparent in other findings of this research (see Weiner-Levy, 2006a). Education led the women to knowledge, and enabled them to work and support themselves. But for many of the interviewees, upon return to their society, higher education, which had exposed them to a different culture, to dissimilar norms and values, did not set them free, but rather intensified their awareness of inequality and patriarchal repression, accompanied by pain and hybridity. The diverse norms and values have influenced and shaped their identities and the interviewees are torn between expression of their personal wishes and their right to self-realization, and the need and desire to belong to the community and to maintain its values. The interviewees described feelings of displacement, of living "in between two worlds”, not in one nor in the other. The existence in two cultures, and the genderial bounds set by the Druze community, emphasized the gap between the cultural norms the women were raised upon, and the norms and values of individualism and self-fulfillment which they were exposed during studiyng for their academic degrees. These different, sometimes opposing, norms and cultures, have shaped different constructs of identity. The constructs, the covert (or concealed) identity, and the overt identity have been described in many ways as dissociated and disconnected from each other 6 . The “hybrid” identity described by the interviewees exhibits a situation of multiple identities that arise from being educated according to dominant cultural norms, and then returning to the Druze culture. The different levels of interpersonal conflicts have been salient; the next section will therefore discuss differing theoretical approaches towards conflict or internal disharmony Psychological identity theories address inner conflicts in different ways. Widely accepted essentialist theories describe 'identity confusion' or 'identity diffusion' (Erikson, 1968, 1975 ; 6 Erickson 1968 wrote about the negative effects of integrating opposing norms and values. The latter, according to his theory brought about identity diffusion and identity confusion. Similarly Marcia (1993:10) accentuated the importance of inner harmony in order to achieve “closure” - the required identity achievement. The Postmodern theories (Gergen, 1991; Hall, 1996; Sarup (1996. describe the state of conflicting values and norms as part of the postmodern experience. 30
European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 5, Number 3 (2007) Marcia,1993) resulting from exposure and internalization of norms and values which are different or conflicting. As opposed to theories, which demand a decision between alternatives and different identifications, the interviewees describe indecision, duality and long lasting inner conflicts in their identities. They have not solved the conflict either by a decision, or by disregarding certain aspects in order to create inner harmony. They have not flinched from the lack of integration which causes disharmony and inner tension, but which reflects the experiences of their life stories. In line with the narrative approach, ‘consistent identity’ is created when an individual organizes various conflicting events from his/her past in his life story in a comprehendible way (McAdams, 1988). This does not mean uniformity and harmony or unification among the components of personality, but rather coherence among the parts of the story itself by an attempt to give meaning and significance to its parts (Bruner, 1986, 1987, 1991). Gergen (1991: 265) emphasizes that consistency and coherence are constructed not from the identity that the individual has "found" or has "crystallized" but from the ability of the individual to understand him/herself and to pass on his/her story in a comprehensible way, to others. The human ability for rich and varied behavior and the sense of identity are based on the fact that a person can behave in contradictory ways without losing the inner sense of internal honesty (Bruner, 1991), that the construction of a conflictual identity is suited to the life story, and that actually, coherence is displayed between the stories of the interviewees and the correspondence of these stories to the development of their lives. In this article certain aspects of identity have been presented and clarified, aspects which are generally absent from the literature dealing with women who have pioneered or women who have attained higher education. However, the scene which has emerged is temporary and rooted in the context of place and time, as changing and constructing identity is a lifelong process imbued with contradictions and impinged upon by social and cultural processes and relationships. 31
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