| Chapter 1: | Naguib Mahfouz: Western and Islamic Feminist Perspectives |
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Critics hail Mahfouz for his ability to capture the essence of Cairene culture and life. Edward Said claims in “Cruelty of Memory,” Mahfouz has “a distinctive voice” for Arab readers (2). Roger Allen considers Mahfouz a “quintessential Egyptian, educated in the schools of Cairo, steeped in the culture and history of his homeland, full of wit and personal charm” (1). Gregory Cole supports Allen’s comment when he claims that “Naguib Mahfouz is an Egyptian hero,” stressing the importance of Mahfouz’s work in Arabic literature. Cole accurately conveys his respect for the author when he says that Mahfouz, by earning the Nobel Prize for literature, was “the opener of international doors for all Arab writers” (65). This respect is reiterated by other critics including Le Gassick, who focuses on Mahfouz’s ability to center on contemporary life in his society. He states that “the instability of family life in Cairo and the corruption pervasive in the governmental and party-political structure of the country” is demonstrated in some of Mahfouz’s work (vi).
Given poetry’s preferred position in the Middle Eastern world, the development of the novel had a late start in the area. In reviewing the birth of the Egyptian novel, which took place in the modern era, it is valuable to look at novel-writer Mahfouz. For the novel to become an accepted art form in Egypt, Anders Hallengren argues that “five preconditions” had to be fulfilled: