The Illusion Of Freedom: Women, Wealth, And Oppression In Jean Sasson's Princess Series

Abstract

This paper examines the complex paradox of wealth and gender oppression in Jean Sasson's acclaimed Princess series, focusing on Princess Sultana's narrative as a lens through which to understand the multifaceted nature of female subjugation in Saudi Arabian society. Despite access to extraordinary material privilege, the women portrayed in these memoirs experience profound restrictions on their autonomy and selfhood, revealing the intricate ways in which patriarchal systems operate independently of economic factors. Through textual analysis, this research identifies three principal mechanisms of control that transcend class boundaries: legal disenfranchisement, spatial confinement, and psychological manipulation. The paper argues that Sasson's work demonstrates how financial resources may simultaneously alleviate certain aspects of oppression whilst reinforcing others, creating an illusion of freedom that masks deeper structural inequalities. This research contributes to feminist literary criticism by illuminating how material wealth, rather than functioning as a liberating force, can serve as a gilded cage that obscures and sometimes intensifies gender-based oppression. Ultimately, the Princess series reveals that authentic emancipation requires fundamental structural changes beyond economic privilege, challenging Western assumptions about the relationship between financial autonomy and women's liberation in non-Western contexts.