Novel
Zainab
زينب
Muhammad Husayn Haykal · 1913
Synopsis
In the Egyptian countryside, Zaynab, a young peasant who works in the fields, loves Ibrahim, but social conventions reduce their bond to stolen moments. She is married to Hassan, a good man, a well-off peasant, whom she did not choose. Hamid, the landowner's son (her cousin according to the English publisher), falls in love with her in turn, but her marriage and her attachment to Ibrahim put her out of his reach. The novel challenges the arranged marriage.
Context
The book was written in France, in 1911, in Paris according to Darf, while the author was studying law there; conceived at first as a short story, it became a novel in three parts. It was published in Cairo, issued by the press title al-Jarida according to Darf, under the signature “An Egyptian peasant”, the subject being thought sensitive. The date of publication varies: 1913 for Darf, 1914 for Universalis. The narration is in literary Arabic and the dialogue in Egyptian Arabic. A silent film was made from it in 1930.
Who it is for
A narrative whose characters speak the dialect of the country, which the English-speaking reader finds translated; no French version has been found.
Prizes and reception
Often regarded as the first modern Arabic novel, and the first to take Egyptian peasant life as its subject.
Sources for this page 4
The pages consulted to check this page.