TTATD Said Passage Analysis

"The thought choked him with despair, not merely because he would soon lose a safe hiding place, but because he also knew he'd lost affection and companionship as well. He saw her there in the dark before him--Nur, with all her smiles and fun-making, her love and her unhappiness--and the terrible depression he felt made him aware that she had penetrated much deeper within him than he had imagined, that she had become a part of him, and that she should never have been separated from this life of his which was in shreds and tottering on the brink of an abyss. Closing his eyes in the darkness, he silently acknowledged that he did love her and that he would not hesitate to give his own life to bring her back safe. Then one thought made him growl in anger: "And yet would her destruction cause so much as a single ripple anywhere?" 

No, definitely not. Not even a pretense of grief would be made for loss of Nur, who was only a woman with no protector, adrift on a sea of waves either indifferent or hostile. And Sana, too, might well find herself one day with no one who cared to look after her. These thoughts scared and angered him and he gripped his gun and pointed it in front of him in the dark, as though warning the unknown. In deep despair, delirious in the silence and dark, he began to sob; and sobbed until late in the night sleep finally overcame him." (Chapter 16)

The following passage is situated within the beginning of chapter 16 specifically, after the disappearance of Nur where Said expresses a soliloquy that reinforces the theme of self-actualization. The purpose of this passage is to contrast with many other key passages as Mahfouz decides to depict Said in a different light specifically, to showcase the vulnerable side of Said. Taking into consideration the stream of  consciousness, Mahfouz is able to achieve this by overlapping Said’s indecisiveness with his lack of compassion. This is further developed throughout the novel in order to characterize Said as a compassionate man for the sake of deviating from the norms of his masculine characteristics whilst, conforming to the tragic hero archetype. Specifically, Said realizes overwhelming waves of emotions, comprising of sadness and loneliness that all stem back to Nur leaving him.

Said is experiencing a sense of betrayal however, he feels guilty about not showing her enough love as he continues to overthink his actions and question his existence in her life by asking himself: “and yet would her destruction cause so much as a single ripple anywhere.” Mahfouz uses imagery such as waves in order to mimic the mental deterioration that the protagonist is experiencing, essentially to intensify the true value of psychological realism. This enables readers to have a better insight on the characterization of Said especially because of the slow pacing that these soliloquy's offer, allowing room for reflection and judgement.  Furthermore, the use of flashbacks that include Sana in them allow the reader to reflect on his decisions. It is important to recognize the repetitive use of the word “dark” throughout this passage as it parallels with his dark feelings and emotions he is experiencing, essentially foreshadowing his downfall without his loved ones by his side. Clearly, the readers can recognize that he is miserable and this is further heightened because of Nur leaving him of which resulted into an increase of his hallucinations.

All in all, Said is not controlled by his ego within this extract as he finally decides to recognize his wrong doings while experiencing a sense of betrayal, insecurity and loss of hope.