A death --- and turbulence in the family
Tulip Chowdhury understands the pain of a mother in a riveting tale
Poor people around the world have the same tale to tell, the tale of poverty. The poor can be poor to a level when they cannot get any poorer. This is a tale of such a family, a family that is torn between its wants and abilities. The family passes days and nights with its back against the wall. The Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz portrays the story of a poor family in Egypt around the mid-1940s. This is the tale of the Kamel family that is thrown into extreme hardship after the death of the father. Left to fend for themselves are the mother Samira, her daughter Nefisa, three sons, Hassan, Hussein and Hassanein. Hassan is the good-for-nothing, a thug and a drug dealer. Hussein is the decent type, quiet and emphatic, one who sacrifices his higher studies to help the family. And then there is Hassanein, the ambitious one. He is the arrogant go-getter who does not care whom he steps over to reach his goals. It is life's rule that time and tide stop for none. The father Kamel Effendi Ali passes away but life for his family rolls on. In the face of extreme hardship, Samira stands firmly to face the world with their small means. She makes no secret of their sudden poverty and tells her children to curtail all their expenses. However, like an ideal mother she makes certain that her children continue their school. The eldest, Hassan, is there only to make demands on the meagre pension money. Nefisa, leaving her place at home as a lady, becomes a dressmaker. Hussein is the first to graduate from his school and gets a job with the help of his father's friend. He could have continued with higher studies but for the immediate need of his family he goes for the job. Serving in a different city he is offered lucrative marriage proposals through which he can climb the social ladder. But to Hussein his family comes first and he rejects such offers. The story continues with the tales of the everyday life of the Kemal family. The trivial things stand out as major hurdles in their life. The skimpy meals the family shares and the patched clothes they wear draw a clear picture of their unhappy life. They cut down on all kinds of entertainment and sell out their furniture and television. The late father's bed too is sold. While Hussein and Hassanein pursue their studies, Nefisa helps out with her small earnings. Samira spends her days just counting each penny and letting the days go by. However, she is very concerned about the family's honour and does not beg for help from anyone nor does she take any loans. What touches the reader is how a mother struggles to keep her head up despite the extreme poverty. This depicts the universal picture of the ideal mother. The tragic figure in this family is the daughter Nefisa, cursed with a homely face that makes marriage an unlikely prospect, and doubly cursed with a rampant sexual appetite that has no sanctioned outlet whatever for an unmarried woman in a Muslim society. Nefisa herself is aware of her own problems and sheds secret tears of depression. Hassanein, after joining the army, becomes over-ambitious and his only goal is to rise in society. He has no problem dumping his fiancé at the drop of a hat when he decides her family is not of the class he aspires to belong to. He disowns his brother Hassan rather than be connected to someone who is known as a criminal. At Hassanein's insistence the family moves to a rich neighbourhood. But it seems as if trouble in the family is a never-ending game. Hassan comes home one day, severely wounded, and has the police on his trail. Nefisa, unable to contain her unbridled sexual appetite, is arrested at a brothel. Hassanein's world is shattered. Nefisa decides that she will not enter her house again. Rather than face the scandal she tells her brother that she will commit suicide by jumping into the Nile. Hassanein is faced with two choices: will he allow his sister to commit suicide while he looks on or will he forgive her and face the scandal? And if he does witness his sister's death, will he be able go on living his life like another honourable man in society? All through the story the role of Samira as a mother remains a prominent feature. She is kind and loving and yet very strong when it comes to dealing with reality. She is the one who sends Hassan to his own fate, for he only brings troubles for his siblings. And yet we see the mother's heart crying for him. She is grateful to Hussein for his contributions to the family. Yet she does not hesitate to rebuke Hassanein when he dumps his childhood love for the sake of securing a bride who is highly placed in society. What can such a mother say when her only daughter is disgraced as a prostitute? Indeed all struggles for survival amidst the hardships seem like a lost battle to the Kamel family. The story ends in tragedy and the sad tale of the Kamel family once in a while throws the reader into melancholy moods. However, one cannot deny that the story is a stark reality --- of how cruel life can be towards some people. Naguib Mahfouz, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1988, is a slice-oflife author. He gives the reader a good sense of the setting of the story and the characters. His characters and the plot do not seem artificial. Fiction is said to be tied to real life pictures like a spider's web. Naguib Mahfouz holds out this truth like a true word master. There is a sense of street logic that guides the narrative and gives the reader a feeling that the author has 'lived' through the tale. A worthy read if one wants a glimpse of how real life can be and wake up with a real shake.
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