What Makes a Man

“'You're the oldest brother. In addition to that, you're an employee-- in other words, you're really a man. You're the best one suited for this mission.”... “I, for my part, am no longer a boy. I have become a man and an employee, as you pointed out.”... “Fahmy...you're our man!”(215)

As I read this passage in Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz, I though what is it that qualifies a male person in the Muslim culture to become a man. If Yasin and Fahmy are men, what qualifies them to be considered this? I thought maybe Khadija tells them that they are the men for the job because she just want to butter them up to it. But we see that she does not seriously call Kamal a man, and earlier in the novel, Yasin considers himself a boy when he asks his mother did all the deeds that he considered appalling. Thus, I questioned at what point will Kamal be considered a man in their culture and at what point did Yasin become a man from the naiive boy that he was. Is there a rite a passage in the Muslim culture?
After doing some research, I was given the answer that there is no ritual in the Muslim culture as a rite of passage. This means that there is not actual physical ceremony that a young man has to go through in order for him to officially be a man. But I did find out that in the Muslim culture there are different religious expectations of a boy than a man. As a child, boys are not required to pray and commit to all the five pillars. This is because it is felt that they really don't understand what they are saying. They would just be speaking words and doing actions that they were told to do.(Erfani) Children in the Islamic religion start getting taught to read at the age of five. As they grow into teenagers, they are expected to become a more devout Muslim.(Ahmad)
Although this seemed like it applied in the book, especially with Kamal having that class that taught him about the Quran, there seemed like there was much more in the book to being a man. There is an emphasis on being employed, as mentioned in the passage, and having finished your schooling. This sort of right of passage seemed more practical than religious because it seems that one has to be considered a responsible adult with their life planned out. If this is the case, then Fahmy may not be as much of a man as Yasin because he is not employed, but he is still going to school. But he is well on his way because he is finishing up in law school.
There is not that much of a difference in the transition from childhood to manhood in the book and in the culture that we are used to. You are a man when you are considered a responsible and respectable adult. But in the Muslim culture it is a little bit more because you are expected to be a dedicated Muslim, which is part of being respectable since the religion is such a big part in the culture.


References
1. Erfani, Ali. "Muslim rituals marking the transition from childhood to adulthood - by Ali Erfani - Helium." Helium - Where Knowledge Rules. Web. 25 Feb. 2010. .

2. Ahmad, Zainib. "Muslim rituals marking the transition from childhood to adulthood - by Zainib Ahmad - Helium." Helium - Where Knowledge Rules. Web. 25 Feb. 2010. .

Palace Walk 1

On page 4 Amina is talking about the house and how she can hear spirits and everything going through the house cursing everything. She also talks about her husband, and how the only time she feels safe is when her husband is around. But she also talks about a time where she didn't feel safe even when her husband would come back from his nightly adventures. She talks about how she used to fear him and didn't understand any of the stuff that he did. " I'm a man. I'm the one who commands and forbids. I will not accept any any criticism of my behavior. All I ask of you is to obey me. Don't force me to discipline you". (pg 4) I wonder why does her husband feel that it is okay to talk to his wife like that? Why does he feel the need to belittle her and make her look as if she is less than the dirt that is under his feet. The part that really got to me is how he says, " Don't force me to discipline you". That is something that a mother would say to her son. Not something that a husband says to his wife. It kind of reminds me of an abusive relationship that might be portrayed on television. Where the husband gets ready to hit his wife, but before he does it he will tell his wife don't make me do this, I don't want to do this but I have too, and sometimes they even say I have to hit you because I love you so much. Since I don't know that much about their culture I have to go on what I think. I think that the reason he finds it okay to talk to his wife like that is because they put the men on a throne, and make them feel like they are king. That everyone else is lower then them, especially their wives, and it is part of the woman's job to just listen to them and do whatever their husband's want them to do.

Does she really love him?

“The carriage proceeded along Palace Walk, and her husband headed for their door. She left the balcony for the bedroom. Picking up the lamp, she went to the sitting room and then to the hall to stand at the top of the stairs. She could hear the outside door being slammed shut and the bolt sliding into place. She imagined his tall figure crossing the courtyard as he donned awesome dignity and shed the mirthfulness which, had she not overheard it, she would have never thought possible. Hearing the tip of his walking stick strike the steps of the stairway, she held the lamp over the banister to light his way” (7).

This passage struck me because it related to my family the most. I noticed how she would wait for her husband to get home from his “night of entertainment.” At first in the book, I thought she waited for him so much because she wanted to hear the stories he could bring home and tell her about so that she could educate her family, but as I continued reading I noticed that there was more to it. She actually loves him, and I think this passage shows that.

Of course as Americans, who don’t practice arranged marriages we think that you must love someone in order to marry them, well, in most cases. But, in arranged marriages, they don’t always initially love the person that they marry. With this presumption that Amina and Ahmad’s marriage was one of these, I was surprised when I saw signs that she actually loved him. It’s very evident from the first couple pages of the book that she cares deeply about her family, but her compassionate love for him wasn’t really shown. Later in the book, she talked about how she liked him better when he was in a better mood and would talk to her and this could potentially be the reason we don’t see this. The fact that at one point in the book she admits that she lived to see him return home from his night of entertainment, made me see just how much she really did love him and worked to please him and make him happy. Amina works all day with her daughters to make sure he has a nice home to return to.

I think this passage is evidence to how much she really cares about her husband and wants to see him happy. Amina does a lot of work to prove her love and devotion to her husband and makes it clear through this passage and other things she’s said in the book, that she really does care about her husband.

Here's a link to more info about women in Egypt:

http://www.islamfortoday.com/ramadan07.htm