Said's Characterisation Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Passage: 

Sometime after midnight he entered Najm al-Din Street. There was light coming from a window of the flat. He stood staring up at it in amazement; and when he finally believed what he saw, his heart seemed to beat so loudly as almost to deafen him, while a wave of elation roared over him sweeping him out of a nightmare world. Nur was in the flat! Where had she been? Why had she been away? At least she was back now. And she must be suffering the scorch of those same hell-fires where he'd been burning, wondering where he was. He knew she was back by that instinct of his that had never deceived him and the strain of being on the run would now recede for a while, perhaps for good. He would hold her tight in his arms, pouring out his eternal love for her. 

Intoxicated with joy and assured of success he crept into the building and climbed the stairs, dreaming of one victory after another. There was no limit to what he could do. He would get away and settle down for a long time, then come back eventually and deal with those scoundrels. 

A little out of breath, he came up to the door. I love you, Nur. With all my heart I do love you, twice as much as you have loved me. In your breast I will bury all my misery, the treachery of those scoundrels and my daughter's alarm.

He knocked on the door. 

It opened to reveal a man he had never seen before, a little man in his underclothes, who stared back at him in astonishment and said, "Yes; what can I do for you?" 

The little man's look of inquiry soon gave way to one of confusion and then alarm. Dumbfounded, certain he'd recognized him, Said silenced him instantly, slamming one fist into his mouth and the other into his stomach. As he lowered the body quietly to the threshold, Said thought of entering to search for his uniform, but he couldn't be sure the flat was empty. 

Then from inside he heard a woman's voice calling, "Who was that at the door, dear?" 

It was hopeless…

Analysis: 

This passage, situated right before the resolution of the novel, reveals Said Mahran’s final thoughts regarding Nur, as he finally comes to terms with his love for her. Mahfouz depicts Said’s emotional awareness through the use of a hyperbole, stating that “a wave of elation roared over him sweeping him out of a nightmare world.” In doing so, Mahfouz is able to provide clear description of how Said conforms to the tragic hero archetype. This anagnorisis, or recognition that the reversal of events was due to his own action, comes quite too late, as ultimately, his acceptance of his own emotions is accompanied by him already losing Nur. Furthermore, through the use of rhetorical questions, such as “Where had she been? Why had she been away?” and intense fire imagery, where Said believes that Nur “must be suffering the scorch of those same hell-fires where he'd been burning, wondering where he was,” serves to add to his characterization, as an emotional and volatile person. His passionate and fervent desire of finding peace with the mere thought of Nur returning to him aids in developing the plot of the novel, with respects to his tragic ending, since this differs from the usual prideful and arrogant characteristics that he displays. This has the effect of evoking a sense of relief within the reader, as Said’s change in attitude makes him more humane and relatable. 

Moreover, the narrative structure of stream of consciousness, which switches between the 3^rdperson omniscient narration, emphasis the inner subconscious state of the main character. Said’s startling discovery produces a change from ignorance to knowledge, regarding Nur, where he decides that“With all my heart I do love you, twice as much as you have loved me,” which almost seems to acquit him from his path of revenge and violence, evoking sympathy within the reader, as he/she is able to evaluate the justice of his tragic end as being greater than he deserved, or a sufficient punishment for his vices. Here, the context of production has a major effect on the characterization of Said and seems to absolve him from his imprudent attitude. Mahfouz successfully utilizes Said as a vehicle to reflect the disenfranchisement and disillusionment faced subsequent to the Egyptian Revolution, wherein his feeling of paranoia and pursuit of justice come as a result of him being a victim of an unjust society. In understanding this, the reader is able to make tangible connections between Said’s actions and agagnorisis and are able to recognize that Said’s past acted as a catalyst to his tragic flaw of his inability to accept change within his world.Nevertheless, after Said knocks on the door, the realization that Nur isn’t there leaves him “hopeless,” thus contributing to his conformity to the aforementioned tragic hero archetype, since his recognition is followed by his death, due to his nemesis, or fate, as a result of the wrongdoings he committed.