History and Fiction in the Novels The Prickly Pear by Rachid Boudjedra, and Stone, Blood, Paper or Ashes by Maïssa Bey

Abstract

This research examines the interplay between history and fiction in Algerian novels written in French, focusing on a comparison of Stone, Blood, Paper or Ashes by Maïssa Bey and The Prickly Pear by Rachid Boudjedra. The study explores how history resists imagination and the integration of historical and fictional characters. Using a combined historical and structural analytical approach, the research investigates each writer's method of incorporating historical elements into their narrative texts. The study is structured into an introduction and a preface, with the latter addressing the relationship between the novel and history. The first section analyzes the characters in the works of Maïssa Bey and Rachid Boudjedra, contrasting historical reality and fictional imagination. The second section examines the balance between imagination and historical representation in the characters, while the third explores the novels’ treatment of the time of reality versus the time of memory. The findings reveal that Boudjedra selectively incorporates historical events relevant to his narrative, unlike Bey, who provides a more comprehensive historical account. Consequently, Bey’s novel can be considered a historical document compared to Boudjedra’s work, which leans more heavily on imagination and contains fewer historical details.