| Maryana Marrash | |
|---|---|
| Born | Maryana bint Fathallah bin Nasrallah Marrash 1848 Aleppo, Ottoman Syria |
| Died | 1919 (aged 70–71) Aleppo, Ottoman Syria |
| Occupation | Poet, writer |
| Nationality | Syrian |
| Literary movement | Al-Nahda |
| Notable work(s) | Bint fikr Tarikh Suriya al-hadith |
| Spouse(s) | Habib Ghadban |
| Relative(s) | Francis Marrash (brother) Abdallah Marrash (brother) |
Maryana bint Fathallah bin Nasrallah Marrash (Arabic: مريانا بنت فتح الله بن نصرالله مرّاش / ALA-LC: Maryānā bint Fatḥallāh bin Naṣrallāh Marrāsh; 1848–1919), also known as Maryana al-Marrash, was a Syrian writer and poet of the Nahda movement (the Arabic renaissance). She brought the tradition of literary salons back into the Middle East. She was the first Syrian female poet to publish a collection of poetry. She also seems to have been the first woman to write in the Arab daily newspapers.[1] Prominent author Sami Kayyali said about Marrash:
The emergence of a woman writing in the press and composing poetry in this dark era was a significant event. Our recent history shows that it was rare for even men to read and write; her appearance in these dark nights was thus like a bright star in the center of the heavens.[2]
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Maryana Marrash was born in Aleppo, a city of Ottoman Syria (present-day Syria), to an old and respected Melkite family known for its literary interests.[3] The Marrash family was well established in Aleppo, although they had gone through troubles: Maryana's uncle, Butrus Marrash, was martyred by Orthodox fundamentalists on April 16, 1818. Other Melkite Catholics were exiled from Aleppo during the persecutions, and among them the priest Jibrail Marrash.[4][a 1] Fathallah, Maryana's father, wrote a blasphemous book and created another scandal.[5] He was a man of letters, and had built up a huge private library[3] to give his three children Francis, Abdallah and Maryana a thorough education, particularly in the field of Arabic language and literature.[6] Her mother was from the famous al-Antaki family.[7] Aleppo was then a major literary and philosophical center of the Ottoman Empire, featuring many thinkers and writers concerned with the future of the Arabs. It was in the French religious schools that the Marrash family learnt Arabic with French, and other foreign languages (Italian and English).[1] Maryana first went to a Maronite school. Later on she was educated by the nuns of St. Joseph in Aleppo.[8] She finally went to an English school in Beirut. In addition to her formal education in missionary schools in Aleppo and Beirut, where she was exposed both to French and Anglo-Saxon cultures, she was tutored by her father and brothers, especially on the subject of Arabic literature.[3]
Marrash began her involvement in the world of letters by contributing articles and poems to journals, especially Lisan al-hal and al-Jinan (both of Beirut). In her articles she criticized the condition of Arab women, and urged them to seek education and speak out on matters of concern to them.[3] Her collection of poetry Bint fikr (A Daughter of Thought) was printed in Beirut in 1893. Marrash obtained a permit from the Ottoman government to print her book after composing a poem in which she had praised the Sultan Abdul Hamid II.[9] Her non-fiction works include Tarikh Suriya al-hadith (The History of Modern Syria), the first book in this field.[10]
Like her brothers, she toured several European countries and was impressed by what she saw of life there. Back in Aleppo, she turned her house into a gathering place for celebrated writers who met there on a regular basis to discuss literature, music, and political and social issues, in a lively atmosphere animated by Marrash's piano and the guests' lutes and oboes.[3][11] Indeed, apart from the intellectual discourse in which she was fully engaged, she used to entertain her salon participants by singing and playing the canon. The members of her circle included the leading intellectuals of the city, most notably al-Kawakibi, but also Qustaki al-Himsi, Jibrail al-Dallal, Kamil al-Ghazzi, Rizqallah Hassun and Victor Khayyat, in addition to some politicians and members of the foreign diplomatic corps.[3][8] Antun Sha'rawi describes an evening spent at Marrash's salon:
Wearing either all black or all white dresses ordered from Paris, Marrash hosted the mixed evening get-togethers in which literary topics as varied as the Mu`alaqat, a cycle of seven pre-Islamic poems or the work of Rabelais were discussed. Chess and card games were played, and complicated poetry competitions took place; wine and `araq flowed freely; participants sang, danced, and listened to records played on a phonograph.[8]
She initially wished to remain single, but she was persuaded to marry after her mother's death. She chose for husband Habib Ghadban, a scion of a respectable local Christian family,[12] and eventually outlived him. They had one son and two daughters.[13]