The Cairo Trilogy, written by one of the most outstanding novelists of the Middle East, Naguib Mahfouz, covers life in Cairo since the Egypt's revolt against the British occupation in 1919 and anticipates Egypt's official independence in 1952. The issues of Egypt discussed in the novel remind of issues of Egyptian society nowadays, including moderate versus radical Islam, military repression, and the role of women inside and outside of the household. The trilogy explores different dimensions of women's position and power, such as women's access to property, their role inside of the household and their social participation. The three novels together display life in Egypt starting with the revolt against British protectorate until its movement
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At first, readers encounter Amina, a wife of Ahmad Abd al-Jawad, the woman who did not obtain any education and was not allowed outside of the house except to visit her mother, during which visits she was still accompanied by her husband. At the time of colonial Egypt women were not able to obtain any education, thus could not attain economic education and status. Women were excluded from the sphere of extrafamilial social relations and political power. The decline of women's place in the society has been discussed in Engel's The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State. It was linked to the monopoly over the use and disposition of the family property.
Mahfouz provides the reader with references to illustrate how Amina feels in her house. In one of the first chapters of Palace Walk, while describing her working in the kitchen, the narrator says, "If Amina, in the upper stories, felt she was a deputy or a representative of the ruler, lacking any authority of her own, here she was the queen [...]". (19 PW) Even though being denied an education and fulfilling a role in reproduction and being mainly responsible for bringing up the kids, she did not feel the authority in the …show more content…
The occasions when her voice is articulated are domestic; her preoccupations are the household and well-being of her husband and children. When it comes to the outside world, her voice is muted. In Kamal's view, "his mother was wasting away and disappearing into old age". (12 SS) Amina had to give up most of her home responsibilities to Umm Hanafi, the servant, which almost diminished her value, because she was appreciated mostly for her good cooking abilities. On the symbolic level Amina's diminishing value also represents the shift of the novel from mostly domestic environment to a more public space. The society has changed, girls were allowed to get education, the family talks were not centered around the household, but shifted towards discussing global issues. The narrative focused more on Kamal and the third generation, as they represented the possible
At first, readers encounter Amina, a wife of Ahmad Abd al-Jawad, the woman who did not obtain any education and was not allowed outside of the house except to visit her mother, during which visits she was still accompanied by her husband. At the time of colonial Egypt women were not able to obtain any education, thus could not attain economic education and status. Women were excluded from the sphere of extrafamilial social relations and political power. The decline of women's place in the society has been discussed in Engel's The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State. It was linked to the monopoly over the use and disposition of the family property.
Mahfouz provides the reader with references to illustrate how Amina feels in her house. In one of the first chapters of Palace Walk, while describing her working in the kitchen, the narrator says, "If Amina, in the upper stories, felt she was a deputy or a representative of the ruler, lacking any authority of her own, here she was the queen [...]". (19 PW) Even though being denied an education and fulfilling a role in reproduction and being mainly responsible for bringing up the kids, she did not feel the authority in the …show more content…
The occasions when her voice is articulated are domestic; her preoccupations are the household and well-being of her husband and children. When it comes to the outside world, her voice is muted. In Kamal's view, "his mother was wasting away and disappearing into old age". (12 SS) Amina had to give up most of her home responsibilities to Umm Hanafi, the servant, which almost diminished her value, because she was appreciated mostly for her good cooking abilities. On the symbolic level Amina's diminishing value also represents the shift of the novel from mostly domestic environment to a more public space. The society has changed, girls were allowed to get education, the family talks were not centered around the household, but shifted towards discussing global issues. The narrative focused more on Kamal and the third generation, as they represented the possible