Place as a Narrative and Philosophical Structure in the Novel "Al-Tabar": A Descriptive and Analytical Reading

Abstract

This study examines the structure of place and its narrative and philosophical significance in the novel "Al-Tibr" by Libyan novelist Ibrahim al-Koni. Through a descriptive analytical approach, it views place as an active structural element that transcends its role as a geographical setting for events, becoming an existential and symbolic space that contributes to shaping characters and constructing the text's intellectual vision. The study begins with the premise that the desert in "Al-Tibr" is not a neutral space, but a living entity charged with myth, memory, and metaphysical dimensions, where time and space, and the real and the mythical, intersect. The study analyzes the novel's fundamental spatial components, particularly the desert, the animal (the dappled mare), the sky, and the stone, in their relationship to time and myth. It draws on textual evidence that reveals the profound connection between humanity and nature in al-Koni's discourse, and his use of myth as a cognitive tool for interpreting desert existence and constructing collective consciousness.