The Role Of Women In The Society As Illustrated In Palace Walk By Naguib Mahfouz

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The Role of Women In The Society As Illustrated In Palace Walk By Naguib Mahfouz

Palace walk is a novel that was written by Naguib Mahfouz. It was set in the 20

century

in Egypt’s capital Cairo, during the colonial period. The book mainly focuses on the political

state of Egypt and uses Al Sayyid Ahmed Abd Al Sawad’s family as the main characters, to

bring out the theme. Apart from the political state of the country, the characters also bring out

some other themes which include; religion, family values and marriage. Ahmad is a shopkeeper

and husband to Amina whom they have two sons Fahmy and Kamal. He also has two daughters

Aisha and Khadija, whom he preferred that they should be hidden deep like a secret. Apart from

the four children, he also has a son from an earlier marriage whose name is Yasin. Therefore, this

paper aims at focusing on the role that women played in the Egyptian society, as stipulated by

their traditional and religious values.

However, Mahfouz has not presented these women positively throughout the novel

because; they have commonly represented the oppressed, yet they are comfortable since they

believe that, they were born to please the males. The women tend to cling onto religion, as their

source of comfort as in the case of Amina, who hates alcoholism from her religious point of view

but she is forced to accept it because, when her husband comes home drunk, he is more gentle,

tender and talkative (Mahfouz 9). For this reason, the role of women will be looked upon both

from the religious, traditional and the modern aspect as it has been portrayed in the novel.

When looking at the role of women in the novel, we will focus on how other characters

influence them and help them bring out the theme. For example, Yasin is fond of Amina her

stepmother yet, he portrays her as just a woman. He says, “A woman. Yes, she’s nothing but a

woman. Every woman is a filthy curse. A woman doesn’t know what virtue is, unless she’s

denied all opportunity for adultery. Even my stepmother, who’s a fine woman-God only knows

what she would be like if it weren’t for my father. [Mahfouz 88]. From the statement above, a

woman is supposed to act first as a mother to her children and even her husband with no

expectation at hand since by the end of the day, the child you care for so much especially if he is

a male may not treat you with the respect you deserve since you are just a woman yet women

were viewed as lesser beings.

Firstly, a woman and was expected to take care of her home especially her husband. To

achieve this, the woman was supposed to be patient and self-dedicated so as to give her husband

the best reception when he arrives and also when he leaves. For instance, Amina is married to

Ahmed at the tender age of fourteen yet, she learns to take care of her husband. She takes it upon

herself to make it a duty, as she had learnt among the marriage rules. For instance, “she wakes up

at midnight to await her husband’s return from his evening entertainment so as to serve him until

he goes to sleep,” (Mahfouz 1). A woman’s dutifulness is also in accordance to the Islamic laws.

For her to be a good Muslim woman, she was expected to cater for all her husband’s needs in

spite of her circumstances. According to (El Saadawi 140), “a woman who at the moment of her

death enjoys the full approval of her husband will find her place in paradise.”

A woman was also expected to be submissive and obedient to her husband to the extent

that, she was not supposed to question her husband’s behavior or even make a suggestion. If a

woman did that, she was condemned of ill mannerism. For example, during the first year of

Amina’s marriage to Ahmed, she questioned him of his whereabouts at night and instead of

being answered politely, she was grabbed and warned of such behavior which would have

resulted to punishment. He said, “I’m a man. I’m the one who commands and forbids. I will not

accept any criticism of my behavior. All I ask of you is to obey me. Don’t force me to discipline

you.” (Mahfouz 8). Thus, a woman’s thoughts were supposed to be deeply hidden and not shared

to her husband, neither was she expected to voice her opinion.

Since Ahmed is a strict follower of the Islamic faith, he believes that women should fall

under the authority of men. “Men have authority over women because Allah has made the one

superior to the other, and because they spend their wealth to maintain them.” (Qur’an, Sura IV,

verse 34) (Quoted by Zenie-Ziegler52). For instance, Ahmed is the sole authority of his home

and does not allow his wife Amina, or daughters Khadija and Aisha to be seen by anyone or

leave the vicinity of his home, without him escorting them. For example, when Amina goes out

without his permission, she is admonished from his home. She is instructed to go back to her

parents but her sons intervene for her and she is able to get back to her family (Mahfouz 193-

195). A woman’s role was thus to maintain the family’s good name by staying indoors away

from prying eyes (Mahfouz 157).

A married woman is considered respectable therefore she is desexualized. In reference to

the novel, Amina is denied her sexual pleasures yet other women like Zubayda are allowed to

give her husband sexual pleasures. In this scenario, Ahmed displays two characters when with

the two ladies. First, his relationship with Amina his wife is very formal whereby he is very strict

with her and exercises his authority over her. On the other hand, his relationship with Zubayda is

very casual and he is able to be himself.

A woman is also seen as an object of desire, self-fulfillment and a sex object. These traits

are represented by Ahmed and his son Yasin. For instance, Ahmed is violent towards his first

wife Haniya and when she resists, she is sent back to her parents and her marriage is annulled.

When Haniya “displayed some resistance to his will...Al-Sayyid Ahmad had grown angry and

had attempted to restrain her, at first by scolding her and then by violent beatings.” (Mahfouz

115). Yasin grows to disrespect her biological mother for being disobedient and refusing to be

violated against. Also, Zanuba the flute player is viewed as a sex worker and an object of desire

by Yasin. When he approached her, she answered him surprisingly saying “Each of you asks for

a rendezvous, as though there were nothing to it, but it’s an important matter that does not take

place for some people until after a proposal, negotiation, recitation of the opening prayer of the

Qur’an, a dowry, a trousseau, and the arrival of a religious official to write the contract. Isn’t that

so sir... (Mahfouz 263). She therefore, yearns to be a mother and a wife which then gives her a

respectable position in the society. Another instance where women are viewed as sex objects is

when Yasin comes home drunk and finds their house keeper Umm Hanafi asleep. Overtaken by

lust he sets in to seduce her and when she rejects his advances he takes it as a must have and thus

tries raping her just to fulfill his wants though she screams and she is rescued by Ahmed’s

appearance. Even though Yasin is found on top of her, Umm Hanafi is blamed for seducing

Yasin (Mahfouz 298-299).

The place of women was in the kitchen whereby they were allowed to exercise their

authority. For instance, Amina finds great joy while she is in the kitchen; she is the master and

decides when to put on the fire and when to put off. With this in mind, the female characters in te

novel have been denied a chance to be educated. For example, Amina is married off at the age of

fourteen without any education with an exception that she had received some religious education

through her father. On the other hand, Ahmed does not allow his two daughters Aisha and

Khadija to have any form of education and thus end up forming another generation of

uneducated mothers (Mahfouz 157). Due to their lack of education, women were not allowed to

give any opinion concerning their families. If they tried to as in the case of Amina, as she is cut

off when she brings up Aisha’s marriage proposal (Mahfouz 166).

From the above illustrations, we can easily conclude that the roles of women in the

society are greatly determined by their male counter parts. Thus their roles were aimed to ensure

that the men were comfortable. It was also believed that when a woman is denied privileges, she

is able to submit unquestionably. For example, a lack of education meant that a woman would

basically be a housewife and would wait for the man to provide that being his major role. With

this in mind, we can say that, a woman was expected to be the backbone of the society by

ensuring that everything ran perfectly under the man’s rule.

Works Cited

Mahfouz, N. Palace Walk, translated by W.M. Hutchins and O.E.Kenny, New york: Doubleday

Dell 1991. Print.

Mahfouz, N. The Cairo Trilogy, translated by W. M. Hutchins, O. E.Kenny, L. M. Kenny and

A. B. Samaan, London: Everyman, 2001. Print.

El Saadawi, N. The Hidden Face of Eve, translated and edited by Dr Sherif Hetata, London: Zed

Books, 1989. Print.

Zenie-Ziegler, W. In Search of Shadows: Conversations with Egyptian Women, London: Zed

Books, 1988. Print.

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