The Associate Professor in the Department of Criticism and Dramatic Literature at the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts, Nermin al-Houti, discussed why the late Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz remains an enduring icon of Arabic literature.
She explained that Mahfouz’s body of work reveals an intense struggle between tradition and modernity. The concept of identity in his writings is divided into distinct eras— before and after the 1952 Revolution.
These remarks were shared during her participation in the 57th Cairo International Book Fair (CIBF).
Al-Houti took part in a wide-ranging intellectual symposium titled Identity in the Literature of Naguib Mahfouz, held as part of the Fair Personality program.
The panel featured several distinguished speakers such as the Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Ahmed Zayed; Professor of Arabic Language at Cairo University, Hussein Hammouda; and Professor of Comparative Criticism at the Lebanese University, Soumaya Azzam.
The session was moderated by media personality Amr al-Shamy.
Al-Houti observed that Mahfouz successfully projected Egyptian national identity onto the global stage through his depiction of the “Al-Hara” (a traditional alleyway).
She emphasized that identity in his works is not a static trait but rather a continuous human quest for self, meaning, and one’s place in the universe.
Through his meticulous portrayal of social and political shifts, Mahfouz presented a sophisticated model of the interplay between individual and collective identity.
During the symposium, al-Houti outlined four primary pillars for studying identity in Mahfouz’s literature, beginning with the documentation of social and political transformations across Egypt and the Arab world.
She further emphasized the importance of analyzing the tension between tradition and modernity, the evolution of national identity within historical and political contexts, and the profound representation of the internal conflict that exists between the individual and society.
Mahfouz was a monumental figure in world literature, best known as the first Arabic-language writer to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1988.
Often referred to as the “Balzac of the Arabs,” he is credited with maturing the novel form within Arabic literature and bringing it to a global audience.
Among his major works is the celebrated Cairo Trilogy—comprising Bayn al-Qasrayn, Qasr al-Shouq, and Al Sokkariya—an epic that follows three generations of a Cairene family from World War I to the 1952 coup, which is widely regarded as his masterpiece and a definitive portrait of 20th-century Egypt.
In a similarly immersive vein, Zuqaq al-Midaq serves as a vivid ensemble drama that distills the complexities of Egyptian life into a single Cairo alleyway during the 1940s.
These realist foundations contrast with Awlad Haratina, which stands as one of his most provocative works; a sweeping allegory that delves into complex religious and social dimensions.
Photos: Scholar Nermin al-Houti reflects on Naguib Mahfouz’s literature in landmark Cairo Book Fair symposium Egypt Independent.
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