Did He Really Rape Her?

In this week's reading of Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz, there an interesting revelation. It had previously been obvious that Yasin had problems controlling his sexual urges. Before, he crossed the line when thinking of how to approach Zubayda. This time, he went way beyond the limit by forcing
Nur, his wife's maid, to have sexual relations with him. He definitely has problems controlling his urges, but did he actually rape her?
The following passage seems to be half Yasin's view, and the other half seems pretty neutral. Just as an alcoholic will never admit that he is drunk, and a smoker won't give up the cigarette, Yasin finds excuses to justify his actions.

His greedy appetite overcame his hesitation. He put his hand on her waist. Then he pulled her gently toward his breast. She put up some resistance and kept him from achieving his goal. Putting his cheek next to hers, he whispered in her ear, "Come to the room."
She muttered uneasily, "Shame on you, master."
Her voice rang out in the silence in a way that disturbed him. She had not raised her voice intentionally, but it did not appear easy for her to whisper or her whisper had a resonance to it, even if less pronounced than that of her normal voice. His panic quickly deserted him, both because his lust was fully ignited and because her tone lacked the protest that her words suggested. He took her by the hand as he murmured, "Come along, sweetheart."
She did not attempt to free her hand, either because she was pleased or because she was obedient. He was lavishing kisses on her cheek and neck, swaying from the intense emotional impact, in a delirium of happiness. He began to say, "What's kept you from me all these months?"
She answered him in her normal tone of voice, lacking any ring of protest, "Shame on you, master."
Smiling, he commented, "Your objections are very attractive. Make some more."
She did resist a little when they reached the entrance to the room and said, "Shame on you, master. . . ." Then, as though to caution him, she added, "The room's full of bedbugs."
He pushed her inside, whispering with his mouth at the nape of her neck, "I'd lie among scorpions for your sake, Nur." (382)

Scarleteen says “Rape is when one person wants and pursues a sexual act on, to or inside another person who does not want to participate, and who does not fully and freely consent to take part in that act. (1) In this passage, Nur seems to fit the description pretty well. It is Yasin's twisted mind that confuses the reader. He makes the reader think that Nur is being kinky. That when she says no it means yes. If there was a history of Yasin and Nur flirting in the book it would be more believable, but there was nothing before. Mahfouz also describes Yasin as being someone so lustful that the only characteristic he looks for in a woman is that she is a woman. He will engage in intercourse with any woman no matter how ugly or old. The odds are against him. In a previous essay I had mentioned that in Islam, the woman has to satisfy her husband's sexual desires no matter what they are as long as it doesn't affect someone's health. Their religion justifies that, so there can't be any “rape” in an Islamic marriage. In a marriage! Yasin and Nur had nothing going on at all, and definitely nothing remotely close to marriage. Yasin has no excuse. He raped Nur. She didn't want to cohabitate with him and he forced her to.
Yasin still has problems with his sexual urges that he has to control at this point of the novel. Hopefully, these urges won't get him in any trouble the remainder of the novel.


Mahfouz, Naguib. Palace Walk (Cairo Trilogy). New York: Anchor, 1990. Print.

"What Is Rape & What Is It Like to Be Raped? Scarleteen." Scarleteen Sex Education For The Real World. Web. 03 Mar. 2010. .

Confusing Compliments

In the Muslim culture, a man has to provide for his wife, and the woman in return has to satisfy her husband's desires, all of them which do not harm her, or others. Their customs are to hide a woman's body with clothing most of the time only exposing her eyes for her to be able to see where she is going. This is done to prevent lustful thoughts in men, and it also eliminates the probability of choosing a mate based on physical attraction. To the Muslims, this lowers the chance of a divorce because marriages are nos based on the outside, but the inside (Islam the Eternal Path to Peace). But there is something in the XY chromosomes that makes men go crazy when a foxy lady walks by them. Yasin has too much of this, and has no idea of how to handle it.
About half way through the novel, Mahfouz shows us a little of Yasin's overexcited hormones. This is what was going through his head,
'Isn't it time yet, bitch? I've melted away, Muslims. I've dissolved like a bar of soap. Nothing's left but the suds. She knows this and doesn't care to open the window. Go ahead, play the coquette, you bitch. Didn't we agree on a date? But you're right to hold back ... one of your breasts could destroy Malta. The second would drive Hindenburg out of his mind. You've got a treasure. May our Lord be gracious to me. May our Lord be gracious to me and to every poor rogue like me who can't sleep for thinking about swelling breasts, plump buttocks, and eyes enhanced by kohl. Eyes come last, because many a blind woman with a fleshy rump and full breasts is a thousand times better than a skinny, flat-chested woman with eyes decorated with kohl. You're the performer's daughter and a neighbor of al-Tarbi'a Alley. The performer has taught you to flirt, and the alley has supplied you with its secret beauty potions. If your breasts have grown full and round, it's because so many lovers have fondled them. We agreed on this date. I'm not dreaming, open the window. Open up, bitch. Open up. You're the most beautiful creature ever to arouse my passion. Holding your lip between mine ... sucking on your nipple.... I'll wait until dawn. You'll find me very docile. If you want me to be the rear end of a donkey cart that you rock back and forth on, I'll do it. If you want me to be the ass pulling the cart, I'll do that. What a mishap, Yasin! Your life is destroyed, you son of Ahmad Abd al-Jawad. How the Australians gloat at your fate. Woe to me, expelled from the Ezbekiya entertainment district, a prisoner in al-Gamaliya. It's all the fault of the war. Kaiser Wilhelm launched it in Europe and I have become its victim here in al-Nahhasin. Open the window, delight of your mother. Open up, my delight...' (Mahfouz, 242)
Not much of a pick-up line, but it sure gives him a lot to talk about. When the reader takes a look at this passage the first thought that comes to mind is, “Is a woman supposed to reply positively to this?” If this isn't their first thought, it must be something along the lines of, “This is kinky.” Yasin gives Zubayda back to back backhanded compliments. He compliments the size of her breasts, but attributes it to the many men who have fondled with them. He also calls her a bitch right before calling her the most beautiful creature he has seen. Clearly, lust is a part of Yasin's life, and his religion doesn't seem to be very important to him. In the reader's eyes, Yasin might appear to be a good example of a bad Muslim.
Yasin's lustful comments to Zubayda wouldn't only confuse her during the attempt to decipher their vulgarity if she had heard them, but they also confuse the reader about his faith and his effectiveness. Yasin's XY chromosomes are way out of tune, and in order to get to any woman's heart, he is going to have to tone it down, and be aware of what he is saying.




"Marriage in Islam." Jannah.Org :: Islam the Eternal Path to Peace. Web. 25 Feb. 2010. .

Mahfouz, Naguib. Palace Walk. New York: Anchor, 1990