In Palace Walk, the author, Naguib Mahfouz, introduces Egyptian culture to us, the readers, through very descriptive passages, like this one, in the story of a young girl named, Amina. Through the description of her life as a young married woman, we are exposed to the way women were seen in Egypt at that time. Like many primarily Muslim countries, women are seen as having to be submissive and inferior to men. We clearly see examples of this in the relationship of Amina and her husband, Ahmad Abd al-Jawad.
"She returned to the room, closed the door, and pulled a pallet out from underYoung Amina, having been raised in a culture where women have always been seen as inferior to men, has been serving her husband for a quarter of a century. She has taken good care of her household, her husband, her stepson, Yasin, and her children since the age of 14. As westerners, we might see many objections to this. For example, "why should a young girl be given so much responsibility at such an early age?" or, "why not allow a young person, just because she's a female, choose who she is to marry and how she is to live out her youth?". Although very valid questions, as readers belonging to the western world, we must force ourselves to understand the way of life that women in Egypt had been taught to live.
the bed. She placed it in front of the sofa and sat cross-legged on it. In good
conscience she did not think she had any right to sit beside him. Time passed
without her speaking. She waited until he invited her to speak; then she would"
(9).
While reading this, we, as westerners, may find it ridiculous that a woman has to behave in this way, but to people that share the same beliefs find it completely normal. In his book, Mahfouz described how Amina was terrified of being alone when she first married Mr. Ahmad. She was terrified of demons that might have been in her home while she was alone at night and sought a bit of comfort by going from room to room with her maid and attempt to ward off demons. But, he later tells that she gets accustomed to her new life with the help of her husband’s words.
Mahfouz, as Amina's memory of Mr. Amad's words, writes, "'I'm a man. I'm the one who commands and forbids. I will not accept any criticism of my behavior. All I ask of you is to obey me. Don't force me to discipline you" (4). These words were the words that taught Amina to adapt to her new life. For the next quarter of a century, Amina learned to love her new life. Through his writing, Mahfouz tells us that “she even profoundly loved this hour of waiting up…” (5). By saying this, Mahfouz lets the readers know that although a woman’s life in Egypt may seem wrong to some people, it’s completely normal to others and that some women even loved their way of life.
Although the life of a woman may seem slave-like to people like us who were raised with western mindsets, Mahfouz shows us that the way women in Egypt lived was something completely normal to them and something they even grew to love. It isn’t right for people to judge the lifestyles of others because it’s not our place to do so. We need to respect the lifestyles of others and not judge them simply because we grew up accustomed to a different way of life.
What do you think Mahfouz's attitude toward women and their roles in his culture may be?
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