Heritage

"As Kateb [Yacine] said in a conference at the University of Algiers in 1967, Nedjma is a symbol for Algeria. Her complicated parentage represents Algeria's rich heritage (...) The four friends' obsession with Nedjma and their rivalry symbolize Algerians' love for their country, their conflicts, and their struggle to define themselves and to envision a future nation."

Abdelkader Aoudjit
The Algerian Novel and Colonial Discourse,
Francophone Cultures and Literatures (2010) p. 22