The man who is widely credited with having created the modern Egyptian novel was the subject of a Sept. 10 lecture at the Library.
The work of Najib Mahfuz, Egypt's foremost writer and novelist, was discussed by Menahem Milson, professor of Arabic language and literature at Hebrew University.
Najib Mahfuz at his favorite table at the Ali Baba Cafe in Cairo. - John Green
The prolific Najib Mahfuz (b. 1911) received the Nobel Prize for literature in 1988. He published his first short story in 1932 and has since produced more than 50 volumes of novels, short stories and plays. Mr. Milson explores Mahfuz's aesthetic, including his wedding of classical, literary Arabic to the modern narrative form, in his new book, Najib Mahfuz: The Novelist-Philosopher of Cairo (St. Martin's Press, 1998).
Menahem Milson earned his Ph.D. from Harvard University. From 1991 until 1997, he held the post of Hebrew University's dean of the Faculty of Humanities. He has been engaged in research at the Library of Congress since March and is working on a lexicographic study of modern literary Arabic associated with the production of an Arabic-Hebrew dictionary. Fluent in Arabic, he served as the official interpreter assigned to the late Egyptian President Anwar Sadat during his historic visit to Jerusalem in 1977.
On the publication of Mahfuz's now famous Cairene trilogy in 1956-57, Mr. Milson wrote, "Arab critics felt confident that Arabic literature had finally produced its Dickens, its Balzac, its Dostoevsky." The books tell the story of a middle-class Cairene family from 1917 to 1944. The trilogy reflects paradoxes and themes that run throughout Mahfuz's work. One such theme is locality. For Mahfuz, said Mr. Milson, "Cairo is the universe." The Cairo of Mahfuz, however, like the world of other great writers, is an invention of the author. Mahfuz writes about life in the hara, or neighborhood, for example, but avoids colloquial Egyptian in favor of literary Arabic.
Famous publicly, Mahfuz remains almost unknown privately, preferring to work behind the mask of the author. Yet this lack of familiarity is no barrier to understanding Mahfuz's literary ethic, says Mr. Milson, which is primarily philological. During a 1980 interview, recounted in Mr. Milson's book, Mahfuz describes his effort to match language to art:
"The most difficult battle in which I was engaged was my struggle with language. When I began I regarded the [Arabic] language as consisting of sacred molds which had to be invariably applied to all subjects. ... When I started to write realistic novels, I came up against reality. I found myself subconsciously engaged in a struggle: How could I develop this classical language so that it would fit the subject."
Mahfuz's genius rests in his reconciliation of literary Arabic with his convincing and empathetic portrayals of the denizens of modern Cairo. He reveals himself through his calculated use of language, especially in the use of names, which, said Milson, are rich in allusion and symbolism. The father of one of the families in the Cairene trilogy, for instance, is named al-Sayyid Ahmad Abd al-Jawad. The term al-sayyid, Mr. Milson explained, is a standard form of address meaning "Mr." But, as used by Mahfuz, the term seems to be an integral part of the father's name. Some characters even address the father as Si al-Sayyid, or, "Mr. Sir." The father character dominates his family in the story; his overbearing name thus may reflect Mahfuz's personal rejection of the patriarchal order.
The author's own name, "Najib Mahfuz," said Mr. Milson, is the given and surname of the doctor, a famous obstetrician, who delivered him. As such, it is both a secret and a lie: it tells the story of his origin, and misleads about his parentage.
Mahfuz's controversial political views also set his work apart from many other modern Arab writers. He favors the Arab-Israeli peace process and opposed the pan-Arabism championed by Egypt's former president, Gamal Abdel Nasser. His literary circle, explained Mr. Milson, determined that Arabic (a language Egyptians share with all Arabs) and Islam (the religion they share with all Muslims) should not be the twin determinants of Egyptian national identity.
The lecture was co-sponsored by the Office of Scholarly Programs and the Library's African and Middle Eastern Division.
