(1911- ) novelist
Naguib Mahfouz was born in the al-Jamaliyyah district of Cairo, Egypt, the youngest child of a civil servant. When Mahfouz was six years old, his father moved the family to a more prosperous suburb. Mahfouz read extensively as a child. His father’s wealth allowed him to acquire many translated books that were not part of his school curriculum. When the 1919 revolution in Egypt took place, Mahfouz was only eight years old. The revolution had broken out because the British colonial government prevented an Egyptian nationalist from traveling to the Versailles Conference to demand Egypt’s independence. Despite Mahfouz’s young age, he was greatly affected by the event, and he idolized the heroes of the revolution for their bravery and courage.
After completing his secondary education, Mahfouz studied philosophy at the University of Cairo. He was invited after his graduation to continue his studies in the master’s program. By the 1930s, Mahfouz was writing articles about the intellectual ideas and issues of the time, such as the pursuit of science in conjunction with socialist ideology to foster a better future for Egypt and the replacement of the absolutist monarchic government with a social-democratic one. He eventually turned away from his university career and entered the civil service, where he remained until his retirement in 1971. His work gave him time to pursue his writing, which was his first love. Throughout his writing career, Mahfouz continued to read avidly the works of many European and Russian writers such as Albert camus, Feyodor dostoyevsky, Leo tolstoy, and Marcel proust.
Mahfouz’s writings were clearly affected by the turmoil caused by the political changes in Egypt. A supporter of the political revolution of the 1960s, Mahfouz found many kindred spirits in revolutionary movement of this time but was deeply disturbed by the methods activists employed to achieve their goals. He attempted to represent the spirit of the revolution and its ideals through his works. His stories bespeak the uncertainty of the 1960s, which peaked with the outbreak of the war between Egypt and Israel in 1967. The war signaled the final failure of the ideas and structures of the Egyptian government and also prompted many writers, including Mahfouz, to engage in more reflective writings.
In 1988, Mahfouz became the first Arab author to win the Nobel Prize in literature. The award recognized Mahfouz’s contribution to developing the novel in the Arab literary world, but it also put Mahfouz and his family under intense scrutiny by the news media. His worsening health led him to seek medical care in London, and when he returned, he narrowly escaped an attempt on his life by a group of Islamic fundamentalists in 1994. Although he suffered a stab wound in the attack, he remained a faithful advocate of free expression.
Critical Analysis
The early stage of Mahfouz’s writing was marked by his deep concern with philosophical issues such as class struggle, identity, poverty, and colonial oppression. These themes are represented in his works of the 1940s and 1950s, such as Kifah Tiba (Struggle at Thebes, 1944), Al-Qahirah al-jadidah (Modern Cairo, 1946), and the Cairo trilogy Al-Thulathiyya: Bayn al-Qasrayn (Palace Walk, 1956), Qasr al-Shawq (Palace of Desire, 1957), and Al-Sukkariyya (Sugar Street, 1957). In Kifah Tiba, he examines the significance of the country’s early history during the time of its struggle for independence. By reflecting on the character and rash actions of the youthful pharaoh, Mahfouz was able to compare his pharaoh protagonist with the young King Farouk of Egypt. In Al-Qahirah al-jadidah, on the other hand, Mahfouz analyzes the lives of various characters whose continuous quest for better lives brings them into conflict with the dominant British colonial class. Themes such as the exploitation of the lower classes by the colonial rulers are further elaborated and portrayed in another of Mahfouz’s novels, Zuqaq al-Midaqq (Midaq Alley, 1947).
In his early work, Mahfouz masterfully portrays the varied view of many different characters. In the Cairo trilogy, a monumental work of 1,500 pages, he traces the major events of Egyptian history through his narrative about the ‘Abd al-Jawwad family. He explicates a complex web of relationships set against the background of Egypt’s bitter struggle against British colonialism. The novel examines complicated and fragile human relationships against the backdrop of major political events such as the political revolution of 1919. It also explores important themes, such as generational differences, tradition versus modernity, and sexual equality. Mahfouz’s protagonists continued to find their own identities as they faced and reacted to the changes of the times. In a certain way, Mahfouz’s life was a reflection of this haplessness of humanity to change.
In the second phase of Mahfouz’s literary career, he became more outspoken, especially when expressing his political views. This stage was clearly influenced by his reaction to the political events from the 1960s to the 1980s. Between 1961 and 1967, he published six novels, in which he began to enhance his narration to convey the complexities and urgency of colonial oppression and the disillusionment that accompanied this period of chaos and disorder. He also began to write from the point of view of the protagonists of his stories. In tersely realistic style, he expressed his characters’ emotional estrangement from their peers and their community. As a result, his explicitness brought a new dimension to
Mahfouz’s stories. He was able to showcase his talent in creating a variety of human characters with varied and complex personalities and points of view. In Miramar (1967), for example, Mah-fouz conjures a setting in which characters from different occupational backgrounds and age groups come together. The story focuses on the character of zahra, a lovely peasant girl who exudes innocence, simplicity, and optimism. zahra personifies the optimism of Egypt in the postwar period, which is marred by the harsh reality of corruption and vice that leads to the suicide of one main character and the continuous impoverishment of the others.
Mahfouz’s works reflect his personality and his experiences in Egypt where he spent most of his life. His concern with the human condition and other philosophical issues clearly influenced his writings. The major themes in his works include the constant human need for acceptance and solace, the vicious cycle of social oppression from which the poor could never escape, and the irreconcilable differences between the ideologies of the upper and lower classes. Even though Mahfouz wrote of the struggle and suffering of the poor, his stories are mostly narratives of the urban middle class, especially the lives and problems of intellectuals. In addition, Mahfouz’s middle-class background and his long-term residence in cities gave him the experience and knowledge with which to create familiar settings.
Other Works by Naguib Mahfouz
Arabian Nights and Days. Translated by Denys Johnson-Davies. New York: Doubleday, 1995.
The Beggar. Translated by Kristin Walker Henry and Nariman Khales Naili al Warrah. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 1986.
Children of the Alley. Translated by Peter Theroux. New York: Doubleday, 1996.
The Thief and the Dogs. Translated by Trevor Le Gassick and Mustafa Badawi. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 1984.
The Time and the Place. Translated by Denys John-son-Davies. New York: Doubleday, 1991.
Works about Naguib Mahfouz
Gordon, Haim. Naguib Mahfouz’s Egypt: Existential Themes in his Writings. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1990.
Le Gassick, Trevor, ed. Critical Perspectives on Naguib Mahfouz. Washington, D.C.: Three Continents Press, 1991.
Peled, Mattityahu. Religion My Own: The Literary Works of Naguib Mahfouz. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Books, 1983.
Somekh, Sasson. The Changing Rhythm: A Study of Naguib Mahfouz’s Novels. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1973.
