Communal life based on religious and traditional beliefs, in my opinion, is a very oppressive way to live. The inflexible stern life Fatima Mernissi described in her essay, "Moonlit Nights of Laughter," was foreign to me, however, I felt her mother's desperation keenly. Mernissi describes the tradition of eating at fixed hours as the part of communal living her mother hated most. Because of her mother's unhappiness, Fatima's mother would plead with her father to take the family, move away on their own, and leave such stifling traditions. Her father was torn between tradition and the guilt of his wife's unhappiness, and would compromise with her. Fatima's mother craved the happiness of living with her family, away from the strict harem full