Saad Elkhadem, University of New Brunswick
The contemporary Egyptian novel owes its existence to two literary sources: the traditional narratives that were created in Egypt in the nineteenth century by theologians, linguists, intellectuals, and poets and are related to old Arabic literary forms such as qasas and maqâmah; and the flawed translations, defective adaptations, and slavish imitations of European novels and romances that were done by a group of (mostly Christian) writers/translators who immigrated to Egypt from Lebanon and Syria in the second half of the nineteenth century.
Authors of traditional narratives did not pay much attention to either plot or characters. Instead, they dealt mainly with cultural, political, historical, and philosophical questions, clung to conventional issues and conservative topics, and used a highly ornamental and rhetorical prose (which relied greatly on internal or end rhyme and is known as saj'). In contrast, the writers/translators used a much simpler style and were more interested in narrating suspenseful events, placing dramatic characters at the center of their works, and dealing with themes and motifs that were unfamiliar to their Muslim compatriots, such as free love, adultery, and women's emancipation. It is obvious from their writings that the first group was mainly interested in educating and enlightening their readers, while the second group was aiming primarily at entertaining their readers and capturing the mass market.
We shall start this review by looking closely at some of those traditional narratives and underlining their most striking intrinsic and extrinsic qualities. We shall also examine some of the popular translations/adaptations and draw attention to their characteristics. At the top of the list of traditional works one finds Takhlîs al-Ibrîz fî Talkhîs Bârîz (1834) and Waqâ'i' Tilmâk (1867) by Rifâ'ah Râfi' al-Tahtâwî, 'Alam al-Dîn (1883) by 'Alî Mubârak, Hadîth 'Îsa ibn Hishâm (1905) by Muhammad al-Muwaylihî, Layâlî Satîh (1909) by Hâfiz Ibrâhîm, and the historical tales 'Adhrâ' al-Hind (1897), Ladyâs (1899), Dall wa Taymân (1899), and Waraqit al-Âs (1914) by Ahmad Shawqî.
Takhlîs al-Ibrîz fî Talkhîs Bârîz (The Purification of Gold in a Summary Presentation of Paris) by Rifâ'ah Râfi' al-Tahtâwî (1801-1873) depicts the educational journey of a young Egyptian man to Paris that lasted five years. After explaining the reasons behind the protagonist's voyage to Paris, which he regards as "the capital of European culture" [1] but also as "the center of nihilism and pertinacity," [2] the author comments on both Arabic and European cultures, and includes a considerable amount of scientific information and statistical data about Paris, its people, and its institutions. After dealing with the protagonist's aspirations, the author describes the many intellectual and cultural obstacles he had to overcome before finishing his studies in Paris and returning home to Egypt.
The theme of a young man leaving his country, facing different cultural and ideological challenges, and coming to terms with the positive and negative aspects of another civilization was introduced here for the first time into modern Arabic literature, and for later generations of Arab writers, this theme would prove to be most fertile. [3] Also, besides being an important cultural document, Takhlîs al-Ibrîz is the earliest bildungsroman in Egyptian literature. In addition to narrating "an amusing story which depicts an unusual journey," [4] the author deals with the protagonist's inner self and reflects upon his most intimate feelings and aspirations during his attempt to reach an intellectual ideal and achieve a high educational level.
Al-Tahtâwî's next work, Waqâ'i' Tilmâk (The Battles of Telemachus), which is a free translation of François Fénelon's novel Télémaque (1699), is worth mentioning only because the author criticizes the despotic Khedive 'Abbâs and his corrupt regime in a veiled manner, thus introducing the roman à clef for the first time into Arabic literature. Also, by criticizing the social norms and moral attitudes of his countrymen, he has created the earliest Arabic novel of manners. No wonder that al-Tahtâwî was unable to publish his novel in Egypt, and had to go to Beirut instead.
'Alam al-Dîn by 'Alî Mubârak (1823-1893) deals with the same topic as Takhlîs al-Ibrîz, namely the journey of an Egyptian to the West, which exposes some of the negative aspects of the European way of life, and urges all Muslims to retain their traditional customs and habits. The protagonist, 'Alam al-Dîn, who accompanies an English tourist to England to teach him Arabic, uses his sojourn in the West to observe, analyze, and comment on the conduct and manners of his hosts rather than to depict exciting incidents or delineate suspenseful events. And these fervent contemplations and ponderous discussions-which damage the structure of 'Alam al-Dîn and prevent it from becoming an important narrative work-are the same elements that make it a significant cultural document.
Between the years 1898 and 1902 Muhammad Ibrâhîm al-Muwaylihî (1858-1930) serialized his narrative work Hadîth 'Îsâ ibn Hishâm (Îsâ ibn Hishâm's Account) in Misbâh al-Sharq, and in 1907 he published it in book form. In this work al-Muwaylihî uses the maqâmah form with its rhyming prose (saj'), episodic structure, and highly rhetorical style to relate the story of an Egyptian Pasha of Turkish origin who comes back to life after being dead for many years to witness the astounding social changes that have taken place in Egypt, especially in Westernized Cairo, during the intervening years.
The narrator, a writer named 'Îsâ ibn Hishâm, meets the dead Pasha in a dream, and chats with him about many relevant social, political, and cultural topics, explains to him the many changes that have taken place in Egypt in the last few decades, and tries to justify the ludicrous incongruities of his compatriots. After many episodes, some of which are very funny, the story of 'Îsâ and his dream stops abruptly without ever reaching a conclusion.
As in other earlier literary works of the period, al-Muwaylihî reserves a big section of his book for serious and elaborate discussions of the positive and negative characteristics of both European and Arab civilizations. There is no doubt that these strained and poorly motivated debates harm the structure of this work and prevent it from achieving status as one of the truly great novels in Arabic literature. Were it not for the author's wit and humor, and his lexical abilities and stylistic skills, Hadîth 'Îsâ ibn Hishâm would not have become so popular, and would not have taken its place in the canon of classical Egyptian works of literature.
Another traditional work is Muhammad Hâfiz Ibrâhîm's Layâlî Satîh (The Nights of Satîh, 1906), which was modeled after Hadîth 'Îsâ ibn Hishâm. This poorly structured narrative work consists of seven essays that are encompassed by a clumsy framing story which, like its model, has no logical ending. Hâfiz Ibrâhîm (1872-1832), who was one of Egypt's leading poets, creates a few artificial and unconvincing incidents only to use them as a springboard for discussing serious social, political, and philosophical issues-such as the abolition of the veil, the establishment of universities and specialized schools, pollution, the judicial immunity granted to Westerners living in Egypt, the arrogance of the British occupation, etc. The author's highly rhetorical style, which resembles that of the maqâmah, his inclusion of lengthy prose and verse quotations, as well as many independent essays and anecdotes, increase the fragmentary nature of this book and compel us to regard it merely as a callow precursor to the more serious novelistic attempts that followed later.
By the time the poet Ahmad Shawqî (1868-1932) published his first historical novel, 'Adhrâ' al-Hind (The Maiden of India, 1897), Jirjî Zaydân, one of the Christian writers who immigrated to Egypt, had already published his fifth historical work, Fatât Ghassân (The Maiden of Ghassân). Shawqî's 'Adhrâ' al-Hind resembles a fairy tale rather than a historical novel. The story of the Egyptian prince 'Azîm and his love for an Indian princess is full of fantastic adventures and bizarre events which lead, after a long series of fights, intrigues, kidnappings, and killings, to the death of both lovers.
However, Shawqî's second novel, Ladyâs, which appeared in 1899 in the magazine Mijallat al-Mawsû'ât and later in book form, is a true historical novel. It tells the adventurous story of Ladyâs, the daughter of King Polycrates of Samos, her kidnapping by her cousin Peros, and her rescue by Hamas, a young Egyptian soldier, who, after many battles, conspiracies, and rebellions, becomes king of Egypt (known in history as King Amasis).
Shawqî's next fictional work is a free treatment of a popular German historical novel called Eine ägyptische Königstochter (An Egyptian King's Daughter, 1864) by the German historian and archeologist Georg Ebers (1837-1898), which was translated into Arabic. Shawqî's Dall wa Taymân, aw Âkhir al-Farâ'inah (Dall wa Taymân, or the last Pharaoh) appeared in 1899. In addition to the many changes he made to the original story-such as, for instance, giving his version a tragic ending instead of the original happy one-he used a rhythmical and highly lyrical prose that slowed the unfolding of events.
His last historical novel, Waraqat al-Âs (The Myrtle Leaf, 1914) is his best narrative work. Based on an old Arabic legend that has been treated by several writers before, [5] it tells the story of the Arabic princess al-Nâdirah, who betrays her father, King al-Dayzan, and helps her lover, the Sassanian King Shâpûr I (A.D. 241-272), to destroy her own country. However, after marrying her, Shâpûr finds himself unable to trust the woman who deceived her father and delivered her country to the enemy. In spite of his great love for her, Shâpûr orders his men to kill her.
At the time that Shawqî was producing his novels and tales and struggling with traditional themes (e.g., Waraqat al-Âs) and imported subjects (e.g., Dall wa Taymân), the Syro-Lebanese writers were capturing the attention of the majority of readers. They founded a number of daily newspapers such as al-Ahrâm (1876) and al-Muqattam (1889), or weekly magazines and monthly periodicals such as al-Muqtataf (transferred from Beirut to Cairo in 1884), al-Hilâl (1892), and al-Jâmi'ah (1899), in which they published their adventure stories and romantic tales to great popular acclaim. And although the Egyptian writers of traditional works were enjoying a small readership, the Syro-Lebanese writers/translators (who-with the exception of a few authors such as Jirjî Zaydân and Khalîl Matrân-were ill trained and of limited talent), succeeded in controlling the mass literature market with their suspenseful stories and entertaining romances.
By looking at the titles of some of the most famous series they published, one notices immediately that they were mainly interested in entertaining and amusing their readers, rather than educating or enlightening them. These series titles include Muntakhabât al-Riwâyât (Selected Novels, 1894), Silsilat al-Riwâyât (Novel Series, 1899), al-Riwâyât al-Shahîrah (The Famous Novels, 1901), Musâmarât al-Nadîm (Confidant's Entertainment, 1903), Musâmarât al-Sha'b (People's Entertainment, 1904), al-Fukâhât al-'Asriyyah (Contemporary Humor, 1908), al-Musâmarât al-Isbû'iyyah (Weekly Entertainment, 1909), Musâmarât al-Mulûk (Kings' Entertainment, 1912), al-Musâmarât (The Entertainment, 1921), and al-Nadîm al-Riwâ'î (The Narrative Confidant, 1922).
A close examination reveals that most of their stories were free and defective translations of popular European novels and romances. Works by Walter Scott (e.g., The Talisman, trans. Ya'qûb Sarrûf), Alexandre Dumas (e.g., Les Trois Mousquetaires, trans Najîb Haddâd; Le Comte de Monte-Cristo, trans. Bishârah Shadîd), Victor Hugo (e.g., Les Misérables, trans. M. Hâfiz Ibrâhim), Charles Dickens (e.g., A Tale of Two Cities, trans. Muhammad al-Sibâ'î), W.M. Thackeray (e.g., Henry Esmond, trans. and abridged by Wahbî Mus'ad, who claimed its authorship), Leo Tolstoy (e.g., Resurrection, trans. Rashîd Haddâd; Family Happiness, trans. Bibâwi Ghâlî), Bernardin de Saint-Pierre (e.g., Paul et Virginie, trans. Uthmân Jalâl) and others were translated, abridged, and imitated several times by different writers/translators. [6]
While a few translators claimed the authorship of the works they rendered into Arabic, [7] others gave their translations new titles and dropped the authors' names, [8] while a third group abridged or changed the originals to a degree that made them hardly recognizable. [9] However, in what was the most curious sociocultural phenomenon of this epoch, some Arabic writers who did not rely on European models denied the authorship of their works and preferred to be regarded as mere translators rather than novelists or storytellers. [10] Another peculiar practice was that of avoiding the Islamic environment completely and dealing with foreign or Christian characters, [11] or moving the whole story to a faraway country. [12] The reason behind this trend was that, at that time, love, betrayal, adultery, divorce, etc., which were at the center of many of these early narratives, were not acceptable themes and motifs in Islamic societies. It was, therefore, safer to ascribe them to a foreign author or to a different society in order to deflect any moral objections and ward off all literary protestations.
The most popular translator/adapter of the early twentieth century was undoubtedly Mustafâ Lutfî al-Manfalûtî (1876-1924). Into a highly rhetorical style he freely translated Alphonse Karr's sentimental novel Sous les Tilleuls (which appeared in 1912 under the title Majdûlîn), François Coppée's play Pour la Couronne (which he adapted as a novel entitled Fî Sabîl al-Tâj, 1920), Edmond Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac (adapted as a novel entitled al-Shâ'ir, 1921), and Bernardin de Saint-Pierre's Paul et Virginie (appeared under the title al-Fadîlah, 1924). It is worth mentioning that al-Manfalûtî, who had no command of the French language, depended on others to translate the works for him, or to give him an outline of the plot, which explains his deviation from the original text. However, the popularity of his adaptations-which rested mainly on his highly decorative style and his close adherence to the morality of the period-helped to introduce the novel to the reading public and to establish it as a respectable literary genre.
However, a few independent authors attempted to introduce Arab characters, deal with topical issues, and depict the local environment. Among these authors one finds Sa'îd al-Bustânî, Mustafâ Ibrahîm, Hâfiz al-Damanhûrî, Mahmûd Khayrat, and, above all, Salîm al-Bustânî, whom several critics and historians credit with introducing the historical novel to Arabic literature. [13] However, all these attempts pale in comparison to the much more sophisticated historical romances of Jirjî Zaydân, who immigrated to Egypt in 1883 and founded the reputable publishing firm al-Hilâl, which is still flourishing.
Jirjî Zaydân's twenty-three historical romances deal with crucial phases in Egyptian or Arabic history and usually revolve around a love story that is filled with adventure and has a happy ending. [14] In spite of following this simple and plain formula in all his novels, and of having an unsophisticated attitude towards characterization, motivation, and narrative techniques, his romances became very popular, and they are still enjoyed by a great number of readers. There is no doubt that they have had a profound influence on the following generation of writers. [15]
By reviewing these inept, defective, and unsophisticated early narrative works we have attempted to expose some of their intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics, for they have undoubtedly played a role in the development of the forms, styles, themes, motifs, and narrative techniques presently employed in the contemporary Egyptian novel. The succeeding generations of authors tried their hands at the new genre, and after the appearance of several callow and defective narrative works (such as those by M. H. Haykal, T. al-Hakîm, and I. al-Mâzinî), some original and refined works of art emerged (such as M.T. Lâshîn's Hawwâ' bilâ Âdam [1934], T. Husayn's Shajarat al-Bu's [1944], or Y. Haqqî's Qandîl Umm Hâshim [1944]), which later led to the rise of both long narrative masterpieces (as the ones written by Najîb Mahfûz) and short, exemplary ones (as those composed by Yûsuf Idrîs). Therefore, it seems advisable for anyone who is intent on examining the intrinsic or extrinsic structures of any contemporary Egyptian work of fiction to acquaint himself with the role played by those early narrative works.
Notes
[1] Rifâ'ah Badawî Râfi' al-Tahtâwî, Takhlîs al-Ibrîz fî Talkhîs Bârîz, eds. Mahdî 'Allâm, A. A. Badawî, A. Lûqa (Cairo: Wizârat al-Thaqâfah wa al-Irshâd al-Qawmî, 1958), Preface 8. All translations are mine.
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[2] Al-Tahtâwî, Takhlîs al-Ibrîz 59.
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[3] See Saad Elkhadem, History of the Egyptian Novel: Its Rise and Early Beginnings (Fredericton, NB: York Press, 1985) 56 (note I.13).
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[4] Al-Tahtâwî, Takhlîs al-Ibrîz, Preface 8.
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[5] E.g., ibn al-Muqaffa', 'Adî ibn Zayd, ibn al-Kalbî, ibn Hishâm, al-Tabarî, and al-Mas'ûdî.
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[6] Among the favored translators one also finds Nasîb al-Mash'alânî, Ricardo Sulbâr, George Tannûs, Muhammad Lutfî, Na'ûm Mikarzil, Rashîd Khalîl al-Shibânî, Sâmi Qasîrî, and Labîbah Hâshim, the only woman among them.
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[7] E.g., Ahmad Hâfiz 'Awad, 'Abd al-Qâdir Hamzah, and Wahbî Mus'ad.
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[8] E.g., Tanyus 'Abduh, Shâkir Shuqayr, and Niqûla Rizq Allâh.
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[9] E.g., Najîb Mikha'îl Gharghûr, Muhammd Kâmil Hajâj, and Ya'qûb Sarrûf.
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[10] E.g., al-Haqîbah al-Zarqâ' (The Blue Valise) and 'Ayn bi 'Ayn (An Eye for an Eye) by Niqûlah Haddâd.
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[11] E.g., Ghâdat al-Ahrâm (Maiden of the Pyramids) by Muhammad Mas'ûd and Fatât Misr (Maiden of Egypt) by Ya'qûb Sarrûf.
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[12] E.g., al-Fatâh al-Yâbâniyyah (The Japanese Maiden) by Husayn Riyâd and Asrâr al-Thawrah al-Rûssiyyah (Secrets of the Russian Revolution) by Khalîl Sa'âdah.
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[13] Such as A. T. Badr, Tatawur al-Riwâyah al-'Arabiyyah al-Hadîthah fî Misr 1870-1938 (Cairo: Dâr al-Ma'ârif, 1963); M. A. Hasan, Jirjî Zaydân (Cairo: al-Hay'ah al-Misriyaah al-Âmah lil-Ta'lîf wa al-Nashr, 1970).
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[14] For a complete list of J. Zaydân's novels and their date of publication, see Elkhadem 52 (note II.5).
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[15] See Badr, Tatawur al-Riwâyah 89-90; T. Wâdî, Madkhal ilâ Târîkh al-Riwâyah al-Misriyyah 1905-1952 (Cairo: Maktabit al-Nahdah al-Misriyyah, 1972) 21.
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