Contextualizing the Spaces of the Sea in Contemporary Emirati Short Stories

Abstract

The sea legacy occupies a prominent position in the history, culture and literature of the United Arab Emirates and it shapes the collective memory of the Emirati people. Throughout centuries, particularly during the pre-oil era, the UAE people depend on the sea as the major source of living. Most of the country’s economy is contingent upon maritime trade in the Indian Ocean and pearl fishing in the Arabian Gulf and the Sea of Oman. The sea constitutes an inexhaustible artistic and intellectual reservoir of narrative creativity especially in the UAE short story genre. In this context, the paper critically examines the shifting perceptions of the sea analogy in Emirati short stories to explore significant social issues integral to Emirati literature. The paper underlines the ambivalent attitude of Emirati writers towards the sea in their attempt to preserve local Emirati heritage in the post-globalization era. While they share a sense of nostalgia for a bygone era that affiliates the image of the sea with innocence and purity, they associate the sea with a pre-oil age characterized by socio-economic difficulties prior to a period of steady development and significant transformations. On this basis, the paper explores new aspects and facets of the connection between the sea legend, local heritage, national identity, and inherited traditions that are crucial to Emirati society. The paper also investigates the maritime imagination and sea narratives in selected Emirati short stories from a variety of philosophical, intellectual, and symbolic angles to emphasize the efforts of a new generation of writers to restore a legacy endangered by the waves of globalization and modernization.