1
Chapter-1
Chapter - 1
INTRODUCTION
The focal points in recent literary studies have been on gender, class, and race as
resistance to the oppressive patriarchal, capitalist, and imperial structures. Therefore,
literature in its textuality has become the space for the resisting voices against the
repressive system(s). Gender and class are interrelated issues so; in order to understand
class we must perceive how gender affects the class structure. Likewise, perception of
gender requires how class affects gender structure.
As a former colony of the British Empire, Egypt, like many Arabic countries, has
been lagging behind in terms of social justice and gender equality. Arab women have
been subjected to forces of gender and class. Besides, they have been subjected to bitter
experiences of colonialism, the processes of modernization, and the tensions between
secular and religious tendencies. Therefore, the most influential factor in the history of
Arab women's movement"^may have been its involvement in the struggle for liberation
from imperialism before it embarked on the struggle for women's liberation within Arab
societies."1 Consequently, the history of Arab women is "divided into two stages: the first
examines the movement's involvement in national liberation, the second, its role in
establishing women's awareness of their own issues during the period following
independence."2 /Hence, gender and class form the core issues underlying the oppression
of Arab women.
More than six decades of writing and through his fiction, Naguib Mahfouz has
recorded modern Egyptian history in a chronological order and has brought out issues
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2
such as social change, politics, gender, class conflict, morality, exploitation, and
oppression. Although Mahfouz's stories are quintessentially Egyptian, his themes remain
universal. For his prolific skills as a writer, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature
in 1988. The Swedish Academy of Letters in awarding him the Nobel Prize in Literature
noted that Mahfouz "through works rich in nuance-now clear-sightedly realistic, now
evocatively ambiguous-has formed an Arabic narrative art that applies to all mankind."3
Indeed, Mahfouz's experience of life enabled him to document and criticize the social
realities of his time.
During his studies of philosophy and Arabic literature, Mahfouz was influenced
by many famous contemporary authors such as Taha Husayn, Abbas al-Akkad, and
Salama Musa from whom Mahfouz had learned "to believe in science, socialism, and
tolerance."4 Mahfouz's mentor, Salama Musa, was responsible for introducing him to
Friedrich Nietzsche, Charles Darwin, and Karl Marx. Therefore, Salama Musa (in the
1930s) had the major influence on Mahfouz's thoughts regarding science and socialism.
Like Salman Rushdie's novel The Satanic Verses, Mahfouz's novel Children of
the Alley with its controversial religious issues endangered the life of the novelist and for
a long time, Mahfouz was on the "death list" of Islamic
fundamentalists.
Notwithstanding, Mahfouz believes in freedom of expression as he states, "I defend both
the freedom of expression and society's right to counter it. I must pay the price for
differing. It is theQnaturejway of things."5 However, in 1994, and motivated by an alleged
fatwa against Mahfouz's work, an Islamic extremist almost succeeded in assassinating
the novelist by stabbing him in the neck. He was seriously wounded and suffered severely
damaged nerves to his right hand. On hissed res} at the hospital, Mahfouz spoke to.his
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visitor Paul Theroux, "I feel no hatred," adding with a sigh, "But it is very bad to try to
kill someone for a book you have not read."6 On this tragic incident, former President
Clinton sent a personal message to Mahfouz, "wishing him a speedy recovery," saying in
his letter, "The voice of a free man is more powerful than the force of terrorism and
rejection. Your writings have enriched all of us."7
When Mahfouz died, Egyptian Ex-President Hosni Mubarak, in a condolence
meeting, said, "Mahfouz was a cultural light . . . who brought Arabic literature to the
world," and "He expressed with his creativity the values shared by all, the values of
enlightenment and tolerance that reject extremism."8
In his fiction, Mahfouz depicts the suffering of his people. Writing from the
depths of his society, he addresses the socio-political predicaments of his country. His
novels are the sites of struggle whose major axes are gender, class, and religion. This
study therefore concentrates on gender and class/to Jbring out the suffering and the
struggle of the people in pre- and post-Independent Egypt. Throughout "Naguib
Mahfouz's fiction, there is a pervasive sense of metaphor, of a literary artist who is using
his fiction to speak directly and unequivocally to the condition of his country. His work is
imbued with love for Egypt and its people, but it is also utterly honest and
unsentimental."9
Mahfouz's engagement with and protest against social injustice in his society has
made his novels' concerns revolve around poverty, Which has an enduring impact on the
issues of gender. As an avowed socialist, Mahfouz admires Marxism's promise of social
justice, its belief in science, and its comprehensive human vision. His protagonists mostly
suffer from poverty, the immediate and most obvious phenomenon of class
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4
discrimination. In the interface between the imposing bourgeois system and the deprived
figures, Mahfouz's novels bring to the surface the hidden politico-cultural layers in the
Egyptian society.
The other important aspect of Mahfouz's novels is the subject of sex. Despite the
fact that sex is central in his fiction, Mahfouz also concentrates on capitalism, patriarchy
as the other sides of women's oppression. Patriarchal Arab societies traditionally protect
women and children in a manner that denies even the possibility of autonomy for women.
The recurring(fmage of prostitute ir) Mahfouz's novels is also the most prominent
negative image of woman that shows her as '"sexually fallen', or 'sexually deviant.'"10
A prostitute is a figure through which gender and class are critically brought together.
Thus, the prostitute reveals the dualistic nature of the individual and the society. While
out of poverty the prostitute is inwardly "wretched" and outwardly marginalized as an
•'immoral", the well-to-do - usually businesswomen - in Mahfouz's novels are inwardly
corrupt.11 This dualism makes the image of prostitute as the site of struggle between
gender and class. It should be noted that, wifehood and motherhood are the other images
of women portrayed in his works. The novelist's sympathetic treatment of women in such
images gives the mother figure a leading role, and the wife-image a resisting voice. As a
major Egyptian writer, Mahfouz's writing is vital and "gives a voice to the many women
whose stories have not been told, whose silence has been oppressed, and whose dignity
has been shattered."12 In view of that, this study focuses on the representation of female
characters in Mahfouz's selected novels and it endeavors to show the way class
categories influence such images.
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5
Mahfouz in his novels also depicts the interactions between family and society.
He criticizes the very bourgeois system, which works by subordinating the 'Other' in its
androcentric realm. The interrelated spheres of gender and class can be investigated at
two levels; the private and the public to differentiate between the unfair statuses of
women in Arab society. This study therefore focuses on the familial as well as social
levels of Mahjouzls novels for insights on gender and class based conflict. Through
textual and literary analysis, the study will explore the ways Mahfouz treats these two
basic social constructs in his novels in which gender and class oppression remain the
most salient axes. Thus, in this study, the concepts of gender and class are critically
examined.
Although Mahfouz is best known for his novels, critics have acclaimed his
prolific output of short fiction for its thematic complexity and extensive use of such
literary devices as allegory, symbolism, and experimental narrative techniques in which
he explores the realities of present-day Egypt. In his short fiction, Mahfouz also strives to
create realistic characters to investigate political issues, social, spiritual, and cultural
malaise in contemporary Egypt. He "presents us with a different concept of the world and
makes it real. His genius is not just that he shows us Egyptian colonial society in all its
complexity; it is that he makes us look through the vision of his vivid characters and see
people and ideas that no longer seem so alien."13
Mahfouz's writings deal with the most negative aspects of society, which cause
the crisis of human beings and lead to corruption in their lives. His works are regarded as
credible record of the lives of the middle and lower classes of Egyptian society. In short,
Mahfouz is a remarkable social critic who criticizes his society and its problematic
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6
traditions and customs. His works are frequently set in the urban quarters of Cairo while
his characters are mostly ordinary people striving to confront modernization of society
and the temptations of Western values. He employs "his art to capture the essence and
drama of Cairene culture in the early twentieth century."14 Mahfouz "is not only a Hugo
and a Dickens, but also a Galsworthy, a Mann, a Zola, and a Jules Romain."15 His (
characters' personal struggles mirror the social, political, religious, and cultural concerns
confronting his homeland.
In fact, Mahfouz attempts to cover the whole history of Egypt in a series of books.
His works always reflect his dissatisfaction with the social realities and they give
expression in powerful metaphors to the hopes and frustration of his nation. During the
late forties and fifties, Mahfouz has focused on the themes of psychological impact of the
social change on ordinary people. This is clearly manifested in his realistic novels
produced during this period in which Mahfouz has dealt directly with the suffering of
people in Cairo during and after the war. He is probably the only original novelist who
captured the imagination of all Arabic speaking peoples; yet at the heart and soul, he
remains Egyptian.
This research work specifically looks into the selected novels of Mahfouz
published during the 1940s and 1960s in order to figure out the interconnectedness and
complexities of relationship between gender and class that have historically entangled
with tradition, colonialism, and modernity in the Arab world.
The selected novels this study examines are Madiq Alley (1947), The Cairo
Trilogy (1956-57) containing Palace Walk (1956), Palace of Desire (1957) and Sugar
Street (1957), Children of the Alley (1959), and Miramar (1967). These novels are dealt
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7
with in a chronological order with regard to their dates of publication as well as their
respective themes. However, Mahfouz's late novels have been excluded, because they are
written in different ideological frameworks. These selected novels of Mahfouz are
utilized as the main body of this study since they focus on many dilemmas related to
Arab communities in general and to Egypt in particular.
The argument of this thesis centers on the vital role of the novelist in presenting
the most dominant issues of gender and class in Arab society. The study argues that,
issues of gender and class implicate one another and cannot be looked upon separately.
Thus, women's situation has to be studied within this context. The study also argues that
such themes as patriarchy, poverty, prostitution, polygamy, female segregation, and class
discrimination are fundamental in Mahfouz's novels.
This study asserts that gender and class should be combined and examined
together for they create a factual representation of power relations in society. The
interrelated spheres of gender and class can be investigated at two levels; the private and
the public to differentiate between the unfair statuses of women in Arab society. This
study therefore focuses on the familial as well as social levels of Mahfouz's novels for
insights on gender and class based conflict.
Even though, some studies and discussions on Arab women revolve around the
dominant issues of gender discourse, economic and political participation, however, they
merely focus on the social and psychological aspects of gender. Viewed from this
perspective, this area is still relatively neglected in the Arab feminist literature. In fact,
this is mainly what has encouraged the researcher to carry out research on gender and
class in the Arab society by focusing on Mahfouz's novels.
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This research work, through the analysis of Mahfouz's selected novels attempts to
find answers to such questions as, how does classism influence gender relations and vice
versa? How does masculinity maintain its control over women? Do Mahfouz's female
characters challenge male authority? Why do women turn to prostitution? and why Arab
women have not yet achieved their complete rights? With these questions in mind, this
study provides insights to the reader and presents the history of gender-class relations
based conflict in the Arab world.
This research work aims at investigating class oppression as part of a social
system of classism16 and sexism. It also aims at exploring the contemporary nature of
male dominance and female resistance in Arab society, mainly in Egypt. The study also,
focuses on how women respond to these attitudes within the family and society. In this
connection, gender differences and relations, and their impact on women within the Arab
cultural context are critically analyzed.
The study also attempts to interrogate the way in which Mahfouz depicts his
female characters in his novels and endeavors to show the ways class categories influence
such images. Despite the fact that, Mahfouz's female characters have been viewed as
feminine stereotypes; however, the researcher's scheme is to illustrate how these female
characters act differently in their resistance to classism, gender differences, and the
notion of patriarchy. Moreover, the researcher will investigate whether the shift from
traditional to modern culture has had any influence on the status of women. Furthermore,
this study will examine the reasons through which women turned to prostitution on the
one hand, and to investigate Arab women's regression in achieving their complete rights
on the other.
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These objectives open up the discourse of Marxism and feminism in Mahfouz's
selected novels. Therefore, Marxism is employed to interpret gender and class, and while
feminism is used to interpret gender constructions.
Methodology of the-Xhesis
Rather thah\abstract theories, the research work adapts textual analysis with
reference to the Marxist and feminist approaches and their relevant issues depicted in
Mahfouz's fictional treatment of the marginalized sex and class. In this concern, the
scope of the research project is limited to the selected novels in which issues of gender
and class are most remarkably addressed by the novelist. Thus, in this regard, the
complex relationships between gender and class are defined.
For more understanding of gender conception and patriarchy in the Arab world,
this study has referred to and employed the two classic works that have dealt with the
issue of women in Islam from Muslim feminist perspectives. While a third work, which
deals with the concept of 'patriarchy' will also be taken into consideration. These works
are Fatima Memissi's Women and Islam: an Historical and Theological Enquiry17, (also
published under the title The Veil and the Male Elite: a Feminist Interpretation of
Women's Rights in Islam), Leila Ahmed's Women and Gender in Islam: Historical Roots
of a Modern Debate18 and Hisham Sharabi's Neopatriarchy: A Theory of Distorted
Change in Arab Society.19
Literature Review
Mahfouz is a great 'practitioner' of the literary convention of intertexruality, as
Amitav Ghosh, in his book Incendiary Circumstances: A Chronicle of the Turmoil of Our
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Times, points out that, "Mahfouz is the fnor^ skillful practitioner of the craft."20 Unlike
the other Egyptian novelists^Mahfouz was part of Egyptian discourse. He reacted to
outside events and actively tried to influence Egypt's present as Tahar Ben Jelloun
declares, "You can't understand Egypt without Mahfouz-without his characters, with
whom every reader, Arab or not, can identify."21 Adding, "Many have noted how Mr.
Mahfouz helped Western readers understand the Arab world. But perhaps even more
important, he helped the Arab world understand itself. Before Mr. Mahfouz, the novel as
literature - literature as map to understanding - was not part of Arab Culture."22 Mahfouz
therefore sees his stories as a means to bring enlightenment and reform to his society.
The researcher has briefly discussed contemporary debates, criticisms, and books
concerning Mahfouz's writings. In his book, Naguib Mahfouz: the Pursuit of Meaning™
Rasheed El-Enany presents a biographical sketch of Mahfouz's life, works, technique,
and the influences on him. He analyses Mahfouz's work individually based on historical,
social, and religious changes within Egypt. His literary analysis relies upon his rich
backgrc-und in Arab literature. El-Enany also challenges the traditional classification of
Mahfouz's work into four chronological phases: historical, realist, modernist, and
traditional.
Haim Gordon in his book, Naguib Mahfouz's Egypt: Existential Themes in His
Writings,24 examines Mahfouz's work from an existential perspective. He has dealt with
the baksheesh that accompanies Mahfouz's stories with his portrayal of life in Egypt.
Importantly, Gordon's series of personal interviews with Mahfouz have helped him to
develop and explore the existential themes in Mahfouz's stories that Egyptians face today
11
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such as the Egyptian's flight from freedom and confrontation, the blatant oppression of
women and political rights, the degradation of true faith, and the lack of spirituality.
In her book, Naguib Mahfouz: A Western and Eastern Cage of Female
Entrapment?5 Pamela Allegretto-Diiulio elucidates how Mahfouz has successfully used
the elements of daily life to capture the reality of his generation amidst the political
upheaval caused in part by the British occupation of Egypt. She has analyzed the major
novels of Mahfouz's work from an ambiguous feminist perspective to highlight the
difference of the Western and an Islamic lens. She has drawn attention to the characters'
entrapment in the cages of subservience. Her book stands for one of the early important
critical studies of Mahfouz's work in which she has drawn gendered aspects of
Mahfouz's novels based on a comparison of Islamic/Arabic culture with the 'hegemonic',
modern Western culture. More significantly, she asserts how some aspects of the Arabic
culture such the segregation of the sexes, marriage customs, and the wearing of the veil
might be considered "unethical". Reading his works from Western and Middle Eastern
perspectives, Allegretto-Diiulio illustrates that, "the problem that develops when cultural
differences arise from a Western reading of a Middle Eastern work of fiction."26 The
researcher has found Allegretto-Diiulio's literary analysis of Mahfouz to be relevant to
the present study specifically witK.refer t0 the treatment of women.
Matti Moosa in his book, The Early Novels of Naguib Mahfouz: Images of
Modern Egypt,
has concentrated on the early works of Mahfouz up to Children of the
Alley. Moosa begins his discussion with Mahfouz's nonfiction writings especially those,
which have formed his literary career. Then he deals with the historical and contemporary
novels, which have depicted many aspects of social life. Moosa has also examined
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Mahfouz's treatment of social and religious themes versus modern Egypt background
such as the conflict of generations, the role of women, and the inefficiency of
bureaucracy. More significantly, he has illustrated how Mahfouz interprets Islamic
tradition and its position in a modern world. Moosa has discussed the works of Mahfouz
from historical and social points of view pointing that Mahfouz writes historical novels in
order to explore the concept of national identity. Thus, Moosa has approached Mahfouz
from a historical and social points x>f view showing how Mahfouz reflects the echoes of
the Egyptian society as he lived in and witnessed it.
In his book, Critical Perspectives on Naguib Mahfouz,26 Trevor Le Gassick has
collected eleven important essays written by Western and Middle Eastern scholars. These
essays have dealt with Mahfouz's important short stories, screenplays, and his novels
based on socio-cultural aspects, his treatment of women, Islamic values, modernism,
attitudes toward bureaucracy, and approach about social, economic, and political change
in the major urban centers of Egypt.
Mona N. Mikhail in her book, Studies in the Short Fiction of Mahfouz and Idris,
has examined the works of Mahfouz and Idris from the perspective of existential thought.
She states that their works reflect their conscious view about life, death, and immorality
highlighting that existentialism is clearly subjective in their writing. She states that,
"Mahfouz's attempts at writing literature go back to 1936. Since then Mahfouz has taken
the lead amongst Arab writers as one of the major and most versatile creators. He
succeeded in diverting philosophy from sheer abstractions to the concrete and the
particular."29
13
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In_ his essay, "Egyptian Women as Portrayed in the Social Novels of Naguib
Mahfo&zt", Ibrahim El-Sheikh aims to explore the fallacy that woman is and should be
subservient to man. Based on characterisation and the purport of discussion of Mahfouz
social novels, El-Sheikh has classified Mahfouz's female characters into five types: "the
poor woman, the middle class woman, the aristocratic woman, the mother, and the new
up-to-date womeij."30 He elucidates that Mahfouz has depicted women in various
situations and on different social levels, besides "Mahfouz used very possible facet of the
social, economic, political, and cultural circumstances prevalent at the time to elucidate,
develop and breathe life into his characters."31
In her study, Naguib Mahfouz and Modern Islamic Identity,
Mehnaz Mona
Afridi has studied Naguib Mahfouz's writings in relation to modem Islam, the impact of
colonialism, and modem Muslim Identity. She examines the forked effects and results of
transformations in Egypt through history, literature, and religion using theoretical
religious, psychological, historical, and social worldviews. Afridi has drawn her
conclusions about modern Islam and literature that cope with modem Islam as reflected
in Mahfouz's literary depiction of ordinary Egyptian Muslims wavering between their
own culture and Western colonial influences. She argues that Mahfouz's writings
"provide a plethora of divergent views on Egypt, Islam, and the emerging new Muslim
Identity."33
In his study, The Representation of Women in Four of Naguib Mahfouz's Realist
Novels: Palace Walk, Palace of Desire, Sugar Street and Midaq Alley}6' Sheridene
Barbara Oersen has observed that Mahfouz's female characters are passive, docile,
submissive, and secondary to men considering these elements
as "normative and
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naturalised within Cairene society."
14
However, the present study looks at Mahfouz's
female characters not only as voiceless and passive victims of subordination but also as a
resistance voice to male dominated-culture, and patriarchy.
Hoda Al-Mutawah in_her study, Gender Relations in the Arab world: A
Rhetorical Criticism of Naguib Mahfouz's Awlad Haratina?6 has discussed gender
relation in the Arab world by referring to only one novel of Mahfouz's works {Children
of the Alley). Al-Mutawah discusses and negotiates gender relations based on two
rhetorical strategies. These two strategies:are 'Lamentation' and 'Muruwa (decency)
suggesting that these two rhetorical strategies may improve gender relations in the Arab
world.
While Maryam Hassan Elshall in her study, Modern Interpretations of Gender in
Naguib Mahfouz's Cairo Trilogy,31 merely focuses on the transformation of the meaning
of the veil. She, however, does not expand on the other issues of women's oppression in
her discussion. In her views, the veil is no longer exclusively a marker of class or merely
the practice of the extraordinarily devout, but is primarily a popular cultural symbol of
religious and cultural authenticity on the one hand and as a symbolic resistance to the
West on the other.
A number of studies and articles have examined various themes of Mahfoiiz's
novels. However, the crucial issues related to gender and class dimensions are ignored in
Mahfouz's criticism. Hence, from the review of literature, it is clear that there is no
comprehensive study or dissertation written so far on the theme of gender and class in the
works of Mahfouz. With regard to the theme of gender and its key role in Mahfouz's
novels, only a few studies have dealt with this issue without referring to class and without
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15
detailed study as it has been aforementioned. Therefore, the issue of gender in Mahfouz's
works needs further examination, which is the focus of this research.
Mahfouz deploys these issues to foreground the search for gender equality and
identity as well. He carries out this subversive attempt through his critical depiction of
characters and their oscillations among cultures. Thus, it is absolutely imperative to study
the concepts of gender and class in the novels of Mahfouz. Therefore, the present study
significantly attempts to critically explore these issues in Mahfouz's literary works and to
fill the gap in the criticism of Mahfouz.
Thus, this study brings together gender and class and their significance in the
foundation of identity highlighting the reality of their overlapping nature. It is worth
noting that this has not been attempted in detail in the critical works available so far.
Chapterisation
This thesis comprises of seven chapters; the First Chapter, (Introduction), sets
forth a comprehensive introduction to the research work, the objectives of the research
work, its questions, methodology, significance, the statement of the problem, and the
scope of the study and its limitation.
Chapter Two, (Gender, Class, and Modernity in the Arab World: an Overview),
provides a brief sketch of the history of class structure, gender relations, and patriarchy in
the Arab world along with the crucial periods of chronological changes related to
different phases of Arab women's situations. The chapter also sheds light on traditions
and modernity and their impact on the Arab societies.
Chapter Three, (Midaq Alley: Socio-Cultural Issues), discusses the issues which
have been raised in Midaq Alley, especially those related to gender and class and their
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16
linkage. The chapter will examine male and female conflicting attitudes towards the
different social problems, behaviors, and social struggles. This chapter also looks into the
social disruptions caused by the colonizers and their impact on gender relation in the
Arab society.
Chapter Four, (The Cairo Trilogy: Male domination and Patriarchy across Three
Generations), delves deeper into issues of gender and class as presented in the three-part
novel. The chapter will reveal how masculinity maintains its control over women and
how women have been marginalized and relegated as secondary to men through the
established traditions.
Chapter Five, (Children of the Alley. Domineering Authority and the Absence of
Social Justice), examines Children of the Alley as a reflection of socio-political and
cultural fissures and their implications in the public sphere. The chapter also discusses
how patriarchy within religious discourse subordinates the 'Other' in terms of gender and
class and how the novelist attempts to diminish gender differences and social gap by
raising an alternative Islamic voice through his religious characters.
Chapter Six, (Miramar: Quest for Self-Assertion), investigates male ideological
disputes over the issues of gender and class. It explores the way different ideologies
attempt to construct the 'Other'. This chapter also displays how Mahfouz's female
characters respond to and challenge the notion of patriarchy and classism that limit their
role, freedom, and progress.
Chapter Seven, (Conclusion), sums up the key arguments of the research work
and summarizes the findings of the preceding chapters of the study. It concludes the study
by providing suggestions and recommendations for further studies in the field of gender
and class in the Arab world.
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17
Notes
1
United Nations Development Programme, The Arab Human Development Report 2005:
Towards the Rise of Women in the Arab World. USA: Regional Bureau for Arab States,
2006: 124. Web. 22 September 2009.
2
United Nations Development Programme, 124.
3
Miret el Naggar, "Naguib Mahfouz, winner of Nobel Prize for literature, dies at 94."
McClatchy Newspapers: McClatchy Washington Bureau, Wed, Aug. 30, 2006: qtd.
Web. 20 October 2008.
4
Charlotte El Shabrawy, Interviews, "Naguib Mahfouz, The Art of Fiction No. 129."
Paris Review, http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/2062/the-art-of-fiction-no-129naguib-mahfouz, 1992. Web. 20 October 2008.
5
http://www.brainyquote.eom/quotes/authors/n/naguib_mahfouz.html. Web. 20 October
2008.
6
http://www.myshelf.com/backtoliterature/06/carolynhonorsdeadnobelwinner.htm. Web.
20 October 2008.
7
Fauzi M. Najjar, "Islamic Fundamentalism and the Intellectuals: the Case of Naguib
Mahfouz." British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies 25.1 (1998): qtd. 140. Print.
8
Nadia Abou El-Magd, "Leaders Pay Condolences For Naguib Mahfouz." Arabesque,
(Thursday, August 31, 2006): qtd. http://www.salehbadrah.com/arabesque/2006/08/leaderspay-condolences-for-naguib.html. Web. 12 June 2008.
9
The American University in Cairo, "Naguib Mahfouz (1911-2006)." Cairo: AUC Press,
2006: qtd. http://www.aucpress.com/t-aboutnm.aspx.Web. 12 June 2008.
10
Fauzi M. Najjar 144.
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11
Fauzi M.Najjar 144.
12
Pamela Allegretto-Diiulio xi.
18
13
The American University in Cairo, qtd.
14
Pamela Allegretto-Diiulio. Naguib Mahfouz: A Western and Eastern Cage of Female
Entrapment. New York: Cambria Press, 2007: 2. Google Book Search. Web. 13 August
2010.
15
Edward W. Said, Reflections on Exile and Other Essays. New Delhi: Penguin Books,
2001: 318. Print.
16
The Chambers Dictionary, 10th Edition. New Delhi: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd.,
2007. It has defined classism as a prejudice or discrimination on grounds of social class
(p. 282). Print.
17
Fatima Mernissi, Women and Islam: An Historical and Theological Enquiry, trans.
Mary Jo Lakeland. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1991. Print.
18
Leila Ahmed, Women and Gender in Islam: Historical Roots of a Modern Debate.
New Heaven: Yale University Press, 1992. Print.
19
Hisham Sharabi, Neopatriarchy: A Theory of Distorted Change in Arab Society. UK
and USA: Oxford University Press, 1988. Print.
20
Amitav Ghosh, Incendiary Circumstances: A Chronicle of the Turmoil of Our Times.
New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005: 268. Google Book Search. Web. 17
August 2010.
21
Tahar Ben Jelloun, "Mahfouz, the middle man." New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/03/opinion/03iht-edjelloun.2678199.html. Web. 20
October 2008.
Chapter-1
19
22
Tahar Ben Jelloun.
23
Rasheed El-Enany, Naguib Mahfouz: The Pursuit of Meaning. London: Rout Ledge,
1993. Print.
24
Haim Gordan, Naguib Mahfouz's Egypt: Existential Themes in His Writings. New
York: Greenwood Press, 1990. Google Book Search. Web Aug. 2009.
25
Pamela Allegretto-Diiulio. Naguib Mahfouz: A Western and Eastern Cage of Female
Entrapment. New York: Cambria Press, 2007.
26
Pamela Allegretto-Diiulio 2.
27
Matti Moosa, The Early Novels of Naguib Mahfouz: Images of Modern Egypt. Florida:
University Press of Florida, 1994. Google Book Search. Web. 15 Aug. 2009.
28
Trevor Le Gassick, Ed. Critical Perspectives on Naguib Mahfouz. Washington: Three
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