Chapter 8, Ideology and the Politics of Sentiment Summary and Analysis

Chapter 8 doesn't necessarily introduce new ideas, but it assimilates all the material that has previously been presented and analyzes the function of poetry within the Bedouin culture. The author begins this final chapter by asking why the Bedouin people seem to be able to express "sentiments of weakness" through poetry when such sentiments are strictly forbidden by the code of honor by which they faithfully live.

One reason she believes that sentimental poetry is acceptable is because the social contexts wherein the poetry is heard are confined. Women share their poetry with other women, relatives, and neighbors. Women use poetry more widely than men because their world is less stratified. They are on equal footing with more people, and therefore they have more people to recite their poetry to...