Let’s consider a powerful example—Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia, which is an example of literary nonfiction. The author, Jean Sassoon, describes a different kind of physical isolation—imprisonment.

Sassoon writes about a padded, windowless room where there is no light, where you never see anyone, and where no one ever talks to you, called “the women’s room.” Men in Saudi Arabia could sentence their wives or daughters to live (and die) in this room, and the women had no recourse. There was no due process. There was no appeal.

Can you imagine the terror, the inevitable descent into madness that must result from this forced isolation? A plot featuring a caring friend or relative who attempts to rescue a woman from this fiendish hell could result in nail-biting suspense. How could this everyday hero overcome the inevitable obstacles? How about the prisoner? Can you imagine her feelings when the door bursts open and she sees her savior?

Emma Donoghue’s literary novel, Room, addresses a similar theme: Five-year-old Jack has never been outside the room where he and his mother are imprisoned. He believes that there is no outside world, that it only exists on television. After he escapes, he has to adjust to a world he didn’t know existed.

The post #9 Isolation: Physical Isolation, Part Two appeared first on Jane Cleland.