Three Novels of Ancient Egypt Khufu's Wisdom Read online

  The day of his reception by the Pharoah brings another emotional experience Ahmose cannot let disempower him: the garden of the palace usurped by Apophis was his grandfather Pharoah Seqenenra's where in childhood he would play with Nefertari - now his wife, whom Mahfouz knows, in his skill at conveying the unstated merely by an image, he does not have to remark that Ahmose is betraying.

  In the palace Apophis discards his crown and puts on his head the vanity of a fake, bejewelled double crown the merchant presents him with along with the gift of three pygmies. They are to amuse him; or to remind him of something apposite to His Majesty, in guise of quaint information. ‘They are people, my lord, whose tribes … believe that the world contains no other people than themselves.’ The scene of greedy pleasure and enacted sycophancy is blown apart by the charging in of Apophis's military commander Rukh, the man who brought Ebana to court accused of insulting him. He is drunk, raging, and demands a duel with the Nubian trader who paid gold to save her from flogging.

  Ahmose is strung between choices: flee like a coward, or be killed and his mission for his people lost. He's aware of Princess Amenridis regarding him with interest. Is it this, we're left to decide, which makes him accept Rukh's challenge? As proof of manhood? For the public the duel is between class, race: the royal warrior and the peasant foreigner. Commander Rukh loses humiliatingly, incapacitated by a wounded hand. Whatever Ahmose's reckless reason in taking on the duel, his present mission is fulfilled; the deal - treasures to Pharoah Apophis in exchange for the grain and workers - is agreed. He may cross the border for trade whenever he wishes. Aboard his homeward ship in what should be triumph, Ahmose is asking himself in that other mortal conflict, between sexual love and political commitment: Is it possible for love and hate to have the same object?’ Amenridis is part of the illicit power of oppression. ‘However it be with me, I shall not set eyes upon her again …'

  He does, almost at once. Rukh pursues him with warships, to duel again and ‘this time I shall kill you with my own hands'. Amenridis has followed on her ship, and endowed with every authority of rank, stops Rukh's men from murdering Ahmose when he has once again wounded Rukh. Ahmose asks what made her take upon herself ‘the inconvenience’ of saving his life. She answers in character: ‘To make you my debtor for it.’ But this is more than sharply aphoristic. If he is somehow to pay he must return to his creditor; her way of asking when she will see again the man she knows as Isfinis. And his declaration of love is made, he will return, ‘my lady, by this life of mine which belongs to you'.

  His father Kamose refuses to allow him to return in the person of merchant Isfinis. He will go in his own person, Ahmose, only when ‘the day of struggle dawns'. Out of the silence of parting comes a letter. In the envelope is the chain of the green heart necklace. Amenridis writes she is saddened to inform him that a pygmy she has taken into her quarters as a pet has disappeared. ‘Is it possible for you to send me a new pygmy, one who knows how to be true?’ Mahfouz discards apparent sentimentality for startling evidence of deep feeling, just as he is able to dismantle melodrama with the harshness of genuine human confrontation. Desolate Ahmose: ‘She would, indeed, always see him as the inconstant pygmy.'

  The moral ambiguity of a love is overwhelmed by the moral ambiguities darkening the shed blood of even a just war. The day of struggle comes bearing all this, and Kamose with Ahmose eventually leads the Theban army to victory, the kingdom is restored to the Thebes.

  Mahfouz like Thomas Mann is master of irony, with its tugging undertow of loss. Apophis and his people, his daughter, have left Memphis in defeat. It is a beautiful evening of peace. Ahmose and his wife Nefertari are on the palace balcony, overlooking the Nile. His fingers are playing with a golden chain. She notices: ‘How lovely! But it's broken.’ ‘Yes. It has lost its heart.’ ‘What a pity!’ In her innocent naivety, she assumes the chain is for her. But he says, “I have put aside for you something more precious and more beautiful than that… Nefertari, I want you to call me Isfinis, for it's a name I love and I love those who love it.'

  *

  ‘Are you still writing?’

  People whose retirement from working life has a date, set as the date of birth and the date of death yet to come, ask this question of a writer. But there's no trade union decision bound upon writers; they leave practising the art of the word only when their ability to transform with it something of the mystery of human life, leaves them.

  Yes, in old age Naguib Mahfouz was still writing. Still finding new literary modes to express the changing consciousness of succeeding eras with which his genius created this trilogy and his entire oeuvre, novels and stories. In the rising babble of our millennium, radio, television, mobile phone, his mode for the written word is distillation. In a recent work, The Dreams, short prose evocations drawing on the fragmentary power of the subconscious, he is the narrator walking aimlessly where suddenly ‘every step I take turns the street upside-down into a circus'. At first he ‘could soar with joy', but when the spectacle is repeated over and over from street to street, “I long in my soul to go back to my home … and trust that soon my relief will arrive'. He opens his door and finds - ‘the clown there to greet me, giggling'.* No escape from the world and the writer's innate compulsion to dredge from its confusion, meaning.

  Nadine Gordimer

  * Georg Lukäcs, The Historical Novel, trans. Hannah and Stanley Mitchell, Merlin Press, 1962.

  * Palace Walk, Palace of Desire, Sugar Street, trans. William Maynard Hutchins, Olive E. Kenny, Lome M. Kenny and Angele Botros Samaan, Everyman's Library, 2001.

  * Naguib Mahfouz, The Dreams (Dream 5), The American University in Cairo Press, Cairo/New York, 2005.

  SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY

  This bibliography is confined to works available in English.

  MEHAHEM MILSON, Naguib Matifouz: The Novelist-Philosopher of Cairo, St Martin Press, New York, 1998.

  RASHEED EL-ENANY,Naguib Mahfouz: The Pursuit of Meaning, Routledge, London and New York, 1993.

  MICHAEL BEARD and ADNAN HAYDAR, eds, Naguib Mahfouz: From Regional Fame to Global Recognition, Syracuse University Press, Syracuse, 1993.

  TREVOR LE GASSICK, ed., Critical Perspectives on Naguib Mahfouz, Three Continents Press, Washington DC, 1991.

  HAIM GORDON,Naguib Mahfouz's Egypt: Existential Themes in his Writings, Greenwood Press, New York, 1990.

  M. M. ENANi, ed., Egyptian Perspectives on Naguib Mahfouz: A Collection of Critical Essays, General Egyptian Book Organization, Cairo, 1989.

  MATTITYAHU PELED,Religion My Own: The Literary Works of Najib Mah- fuz, Transaction Books, New Brunswick, 1983.

  SASSON SOMEKH,The Changing Rhythm: A Study of Najib Mahfuz's Novels, E. J. Brill, Leiden, 1973.

  E. M. FORSTER,Alexandria: A History and a Guide, Whitehead Morris Limited, Alexandria, 1922.

  MATTi MOOSA, The Origins of Modern Arabic Fiction, Three Continents Press, Washington, DC, 1983.

  ALI B. JAD,Form and Technique in the Egyptian Novel fgis-igyi), Ithaca Press, London, 1983.

  ROGER ALLEN,The Arabic Novel: An Historical and Critical Introduction, Syracuse University Press, Syracuse, 1982.

  HILARY KILPATRICK, The Modern Egyptian Novel: A Study in Social Criticism, Ithaca Press, London, 1974.

  HAMDI SAKKUT,The Egyptian Novel and its Main Trends (1913—1952), The American University in Cairo Press, Cairo, 1971.

  j. BRUGMAN,An Introduction to the History of Modern Arabic Literature in Egypt, E. J. Brill, Leiden, 1984.

  CHARLES D. SMITH,Islam and the Search for Social Order in Modern Egypt: A Biography of Muhammad Husayn Haykal, State University of New York, Albany, 1983.

  MARINA STAGH,The Limits of Freedom of Speech: Prose Literature and Prose Writers in Egypt under Nasser and Sadat, Acta Universitatis Stockholmiensis, Stockholm, 1994.

  H. A. R. GIBB,Arabic Literature, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1963. ALBERT HOURANi, Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age: 1798-1939, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1962.


  p. j. VATiKiOTis, The History of Egypt, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 1985.

  CHRONOLOGY

  DATE AUTHOR'S LIFE LITERARY CONTEXT

  1911 On Monday 11 December, birth of Naguib Mahfouz to ‘Abd al-'Aziz Ibrahim Ahmad al-Basha and Fatìmah Ibrahim Mustafa, m Cairo, in the old district of al-Gamaliya. Muhammad Husain Haykal (1888-1956) completes the writing of Zjiynab in Paris. Conrad: Under Western Eyes.

  1912 Publication of ^aynab, the first Arabic novel, m Cairo, under the pseudonym Mìsrì Fallali (Egyptian Peasant).

  !9!3 Proust: Swann's Way. Lawrence: Sons and Lovers.

  1914 Death of Jurjì Zaydan (1861-1914), founder of the historical novel in Arabic. Joyce: A Portrait of the Artist as a Toung Man(to 1915).

  1916 Goes to traditional Kuttab school. Bely: Petersburg.

  W71918 Goes to primary school.

  1919 Participates in demonstrations during the 1919 revolution. Woolf: Night and Day. Shaw: Heartbreak House.

  1922 Joyce: Ulysses. Eliot: The Waste Land. Galsworthy: The Forsyte Saga. The discovery of the tomb and treasures of Tutankhamen becomes a source of national pride and fosters great interest in Egypt's Pharaonìc past.

  !923 Begins his secondary school education. Huda Sha'rawi (1879-1947) establishes the first Feminist Union of Egypt. Svevo: Reno's Conscience.

  1924 Forster: A Passage to India. Mann: The Magic Mountain. Ford: Parade's End(to 1928).

  HISTORICAL EVENTS

  Egypt under protectorate. Mustafa Kamil's Patriotic Quest for Independence. Agadir crisis.

  Sinking of the Titanic. Scott's Antarctic expedition.

  Outbreak of World War I.

  Easter Rising in Dublin.

  October Revolution in Russia.

  Armistice. Egypt demands the fulfilment of Britain's promise to evacuate Egypt after the end of the war.

  The outbreak of the 1919 revolution and the formation of the Wafd party with its liberal nationalism.

  End of protectorate and first declaration of Independence. Establishment of USSR. Mussolini forms government in Italy.

  First Constitution of 1923. Munich putsch by Nazis. German financial crisis.

  Zaghlul forms the first Wafd government. The foundation of the first Communist party in Egypt. First Labour government in Britain.

  NAGUIB MAHFOUZ

  DATE AUTHOR'S LIFE LITERARY CONTEXT

  !925 The launch of al-Fajr, aliterary journal devoted to thepromotion of new narrativegenres. Ali Abd al-Raziq (1887-1966):Islam and the Rules ofGovernment. Kafka: The Trial. Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby.

  1926 Taha Husain publishes Fi al-Shi'r al-Jahili (On Pre-Islamic Poetry). The book is banned and the author is tried but acquitted.

  1927 Tawfiq al-Hakim (1899-1987) writes his novel Awdar al-Ruh (The Return of the Spirit) in Paris. Taha Husam publishes al-Ayyam (An Egyptian Childhood^). Haykal starts a national debate on the pages of Al-Siyasah on the need for the creation of a national literature. Proust: In Search of Lost Time. Woolf: To the Lighthouse.

  1928 Introduction of mixed university education. Salama Musa (1887-1958) and his progressive journal, Al-Majallah al-Jadidah, play key role m the dissemination of left-wing ideas.

  1929 Faulkner: The Sound and theFury. Hemingway: A Farewell toArms.

  !93° Begins his university education. Publishes his first article on Fabian Socialism in Al-Majallah al-Jadidah. Musil: The Man Without Qualities(vol. 1). Faulkner: As I Lay Dying.

  !932 Translates from English a short book on Ancient Egypt. Supports the schism in the Wafd for some time, then returns to the main Wafd. Publication of The Return of the Spirit in Cairo. Death of two major poets: Ahmad Sawqì (b. 1868) and Hafiz Ibrahim (b. 1872). Huxley: Brave New World.

  HISTORICAL EVENTS

  General Strike m Britain. Death of Sa'd Zaghlul.

  The religio-political movement, the Muslim Brethren, is founded by Hasan al-Banna.

  Wall Street Crash.

  Isma'il Sidqi becomes Prime Minister of Egypt, abrogates the 1923 Constitution and replaces it with 1930 Constitution. World economic crisis.

  Egypt suffers the impact of the 1930s economic crisis. Schism in Wafd party and formation of Sa'dis party.

  N A G U I B M A H F O U Z

  DATE AUTHOR'S LIFE LITERARY CONTEXT

  1933 Contemplates becoming a musician, joins the Institute for Oriental Music for one year, then goes back to complete his degree in philosophy. Hemingway: Winner Take Nothing.

  1934 Graduates from Fu'ad I University (later Cairo University) with degree in philosophy. Obtains his first job m the university administration. His first short story appears in Al-Majallah al-Jadidah. Starts postgraduate studies in philosophy with the intention of writing a thesis on ‘Aesthetics in Islamic philosophy’ with his mentor, Mustafa Abd al-Razìq (1885-1947). Waugh: A Handful of Dust. Fitzgerald: Tender is the Night.

  1936 Under the influence of Salama Musa, decides to abandon postgraduate study and devote his time to writing fiction. Starts an intensive programme of reading the classics of world literature, particularly the novel. The promise of independence gives rìse to cultural euphoria. Huxley: Eyeless in Gaza.

  1937 Death of his father. He continues to live with his mother. Continues his intensive reading programme. Woolf: The Tears.

  !938 Publication of first collection of short stories, Hams al-Junun(Whispers of Madness). The publication of Taha Husaìn's Mustaqbal al-Thaqafa fi Misr(Future of Culture m Egypt). Dos Passos: USA.

  1939 Appointed Parliamentary Secretary to Mustafa Abd al-Razìq, the Minister of Awqaf(Religious Endowments). Hikmat Khufu [Khufu's Wisdom) first published under the title Abath al-Aqdar(Vicissitudes of Fate). Steinbeck: The Grapes of Wrath. Joyce: Finnegans Wake.

  1940 Hemingway: For Whom theBell Tolls. Stead: The Man Who LovedChildren. Greene: The Power and the Glory.

  1941 Brecht: Mother Courage.

  HISTORICAL EVENTS

  Ahmad Husain founds Young Egypt, an extreme Egyptian nationalist movement with its Green Shirts.

  Hitler becomes German Chancellor.

  Death of King Fu'ad; his young son, Farouk, ascends the throne. Italian forces occupy Abyssinia. Aware of the mounting Axis threat in Europe, Britain signs a conciliatory treaty with Egypt. Outbreak of Spanish Civil War (to 1939)- Stalin's ‘Great Purge’ of the Communist Party (to 1938).

  Japanese invasion of China.

  Germany annexes Austria; Munich crisis.

  World War II.

  France surrenders to Germany. Battle of Britain. US enters war.

  N A G U I B M A H F O U Z

  DATE AUTHOR'S LIFE LITERARY CONTEXT

  1942 As a Wafdist, Mahfouz is dismayed and disillusioned by his party's agreement to form a government at the request of its arch-enemy, the British. Camus: The Outsider.

  1943 Radubis [Rhadopis q/JVubid) wins the literary prize of the philanthopist Qut al-Qulub al-Dimirdashiyyah (1892-1968).

  1944 Kifah Tibah [Thebes at War) is published and wins the literary prize of the Arabic Academy. Borges: Ficciones. Waugh: Brideshead Revisited.

  1945 Al-Qahira al-Jadidah(New Cairo) is published. Publication of Yahya Haqqì's(1905-94) Qindil Umm Has him,(The Saint's Lamp). Sartre: The Roads to Freedom(to 1947). Orwell: Animal Farm.

  1946 Khan al-Khalili is published and wins the literary prize of the Ministry of Education. Many left-wing writers and intellectuals arrested. Tanizaki: The Makioka Sisters(to 1948).

  1947 Abd al-Raziq becomes Minister of Awqaf ??? appoints Mahfouz as his Parliamentary Secretary. Zjiqaq al-Midaqq (Midaq Alley) is published and is rejected by the committee of the literary prize of the Ministry of Education. Writes his first screenplay, Antar waAblah(Antar and Ablah): the film is directed by Salah Abu-Saif This marks the beginning of a secondary career as screenplay writer. (He was to script more than twelve films.) The beginning of a long friendship with Tawfiq Al-Hakim. Camus: The Plague. Mann: Doctor Faustus. Levi: If This is a Man.

  1948 Al-Sarab(Mirage) is pub
lished and is rejected by the committee of the literary prize of the Ministry of Education for its eroticism. Greene: The Heart of the Matter.

  HISTORICAL EVENTS

  The German army threatens to overrun Egypt; demonstrations chant ‘Forward Rommel!', and the British are unable to secure their supply lines. British tanks surround the palace and force the king on 4 February to appoint a Wafd government to control the masses. Rommel is defeated at El Alamein. Allied forces invade Italy.

  D-Day landings m Normandy.

  WWII ends. Atomic bombs dropped on Japan. United Nations founded.

  Massive demonstrations of students and workers against the British. USSR extends influence in eastern Europe: beginning of the Gold War.

  Marshall Plan begins m Europe.

  The Nakbah, the loss of Palestine and the foundation of the state of Israel on Arab territories. Apartheid introduced in South Africa.

  N A G U I B M A H F O U Z

  DATE AUTHOR'S LIFE LITERARY CONTEXT

  1949 Bidayah wa JVihayah [ The Beginning and the End) is published. Publication of Taha Husam'sal-Mu'adhdhbun fi al-Ard [TheWretched of the EartR) givestremendous boost to realisticnarrative. Orwell: Nineteen Eighty-Four.