Thursday, 28 April 2016

The Return of the Spirit

This comic novel, written in 1927 and published in 1933, is generaly regarded as the first major novel in Arabic and according to literary critic Hamdi Sakkut “the first Egyptian novel which can sustain comparison with Western works”. Set in Cairo, it begins with the influenza pandemic of 1918 and ends with the revolution of March 1919. The central character, Muhsin, is living with his father's brothers and sister in Cairo while attending school. His parents live near Damanhur in the Nile delta. Muhsin’s a young dreamer who falls in love with the girl across the street but he also senses ideals of solidarity with his uncles (“all grouped together in one room, one bed beside the next”) and sympathy for the workers on his father’s estate (“He began to look at them and at their faces in wonder. Their features and expressions all conveyed the same sense. Despite their differences, they seemed a single person with regard to this sense of work and hope”). In the revolution, Muhsin’s “powerful emotions” are “transformed into a general patriotism that dominated his whole being and made him oblivious to everything else, even his personal safety in these dangerous circumstances”.



The author, Tawfiq al-Hakim (born 9 October 1898), was born in Alexandria and like the central character of this novel had a Turkish mother. Another thing consistent with the novel is that he moved to Cairo to live with his uncles while he received his secondary education. He studied law in Cairo, then Paris and began writing plays there — he also wrote this play-like novel there. He returned to Cairo in 1928 and came to prominence with the first performance of his plays and the publication of two novels in 1933. Though primarily active as a playwright, he went on to write two more novels and two collections of short stories. Many of his important works were written in response to major political events, including the revolution of July 1952.

The central character, along with several other characters, becomes enfatuated with Saniya, the girl across the street. Her father, Dr Hilmi, speaks with pride about his career in the army. When asked whether he had fought in the Battle of Omdurman in Sudan in 1898, he boasts:
“Omdurman and others... That's well known! I've seen combat. I'm not just a doctor; I'm a soldier!”
Likewise, when there is a suggestion that Saniya’s flirtatious behaviour might bring disgrace on the family, he argues about his reputation:
“I'm a man who has always lived honorably. I've served in the Sudan and seen combat.”

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