Of Stallions, Springs, Squalls, and Swords

A Corpus-Based Study of Gendered Similes in Ali’s The Islam Quintet

Bibliographic Data

ID22006749
AuthorsHussam Abdullah Almujalli (0000-0002-5412-7002, King Saud University, corresponding author), Asma Iqbal Kayani (0009-0000-7873-0247, Mirpur University of Science and Technology), Behzad Anwar (0000-0002-4208-368X, University of Gujrat)
Year2026
Volume16
Issue2
Publication date2026-04-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSAGE Open (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2158-2440 • E-ISSN: 2158-2440
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/21582440261453424
OpenAlexW7163534887
LanguageEN
References cited23

Figures of speech, particularly similes and metaphors, have been an area of interest for researchers for many decades. The present study offers a corpus-based feminist stylistic analysis of similes in Tariq Ali’s The Islam Quintet . The study primarily aims to examine how figurative language contributes to the construction of gendered identities. Using a hybrid qualitative–quantitative approach, similes are thematically categorized and analyzed within the frameworks of Mills’s (1995) feminist stylistics, Lazar’s (2005) feminist critical discourse analysis, and Butler’s (1990) theory of gender performativity. The corpus was searched using AntConc (3.2.1 version) cluster program, yielding a total of 82 similes with the structural category VP + Node word + NP. Utilizing Oleniak’s (2018) formula “An ≈ B n,” the researchers divided these similes into 5 semantic domains, and analyzed them across 5 ideological themes: physicality and strength, emotionality and rationality, sexuality and sensuality, dominance and submissivity, and morality and deviance. The analysis revealed that women are predominantly portrayed through imagery of fragility, emotional volatility, and restricted agency, whereas men are more frequently associated with strength, authority, and rational control. However, notable exceptions emerge when male characters are depicted as emotionally unstable, lustful, or morally flawed, suggesting moments of ideological tension within otherwise polarized gender constructions. These patterns suggest that similes function not merely as stylistic device but also as discursive tools that both reinforce and, at times, subvert traditional gender roles. The study also offers insight into the layered nature of gender ideology in literary narratives, thereby contributing to feminist literary criticism

Critical discourse analysis · Discourse analysis · Essentialism · Human sexuality · Ideology · Islam · Literal and figurative language · Morality · Discourse Analysis in Language Studies · Language, Metaphor, and Cognition · Narrative Theory and Analysis

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access