المستخلص: |
Naguib Mahfouz, the first Arab novelist to win Nobel Prize, holds a unique position in modern Egyptian society. Naguib Mahfouz was a part of the generation of Egyptian writers who emerge during the 1940s and 50s calling for the reform of Egyptian society. During 1940s, Egyptian society experienced a major shift as poor workers began moving into the cities seeking employment under the stress of the changing society. Naguib Mahfouz saw his sorties as a means to bring enlighten and reform his society. He has chosen to focus on the life and problems of Egypt’s urban middle class and in particular the subset of that social grouping with which he himself is intimately acquainted intellectuals and civil servants. This is not, off course to suggest that his concerns or readership were restricted to Egypt alone or to a single group within that society. His literature, largely in novel form, widely disseminated throughout the world has been credited with tracing the evolution of 20th century Egypt. He has exposed the social ills like class distinction, sexual depression, destitute and ignorance. He has also acquainted the people about polygamy and divorce and rejected the contention with the solid argument that women are weak creatures subjected to all kind of wrong treatment. Mahfouz’s description the reality of the Egyptian society becomes a legitimate concern for the critic because novels are never mere passive reflectors of life, mere ciphers of reality. The aim of this paper to the social, political and economic changes as we as women issue that taking place in Egypt in the novel of Naguib Mahfouz.
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