Gender-Based Conceptual Metaphors in Nour Abel Meguid’s Oreedo Ragolan (I Want a Man) أريد رجلا (2011)

Conceptual metaphors are an indispensable element not only in the interpretation of literary texts, but also in the representation of the author’s actual perspective in life. The paper aims to explore the representation of gender metaphors in Nour Abdel Meguid’s Oreedo Ragolan (I Want a Man) (2011), a novel that has achieved much fame as a literary work and as a TV series as well. Based on Lakoff’s and Johnson’s (1980, 2003) and KÖVECSES’ (2016) Conceptual Metaphor Theory and adopting the Pragglejaz Group’s method (2007), results show that gender metaphors are used as a tool to represent a revolt against the oriental social perspectives of male supremacy, male chauvinism, and misogyny. Opposed to the traditional attitude of men as superior to women, the main female characters in this novel are portrayed as more powerful than and as dominating their male counterparts. Accordingly, the study helps reveal the author’s female-biased attitude in portraying the characters and describing their behavior.