An Analysis of Human Sexuality in Season of Migration to the North and Midaq Alley

English Standard Level

Topic: An analysis of Human Sexuality in Season of Migration to the North and Midaq Alley

International College, Ras Beirut (Code: 001294)

Beirut, Lebanon

Word Count: 1489

Human sexuality in Season of Migration to the North and Midaq Alley

Human sexuality is a broad term referring to various sexually related aspects of human life, including psychological and physical development, behaviors, attitudes and social customs associated with the individual's sense of gender. This subject is an important theme in the novels Season of migration to the North and Midaq Alley. The actions of several characters in these two novels are fueled by their sexual tendencies, which are shaped by past experiences. The result of these sex-driven behaviors varies between death, prostitution and pedophilia. The different approaches of Mahfouz and Salih to sex, along with the similar atmosphere they attribute to it in their novels will be analyzed. Furthermore, Hamida's transformation into a prostitute, Kirsha's pedophilic nature and Mustafa's compulsion to sleep with British women will be examined.

Sex can be described as notorious in both books since it displayed through prostitution and it is associated with death. In Season of Migration to the North, it sets in motion the suicide of three women: Isabella Seymour, Sheila Greenwood and Ann Hammond. Mustafa Sa'eed lures the latter women into bed by using charm and deceit. "Then, returning to my lies, I gave her such terrifying descriptions of how I had lost my parents that I saw the tears well up in her eyes" (p. 38). These lies and sexual encounters prove to be responsible for the grave deteriorations of the spirits of all three women, eventually leading to their suicide. Jean Morris, Mustafa's last British "prey", proves to be different from all the other British women he has met. Her mental toughness and refusal to sleep with him come as an irritating disappointment to him. Finding himself incapable of dominating Morris, both mentally and physically, he lodges a knife into her heart.

On the other hand, Wad Rayyes, a 70 year old man with numerous wives, marries Mustafa's widow just to satisfy his sexual desires: "Rayyes, who changed women as he changed donkeys" (p. 96). In Sudan, it is custom that the groom in a marriage be chosen by the parents of the bride. As a result, Fatima (Mustafa's Sudanese widow) has to please her parents' desires and is forced to marry Wad Rayyes "her father had charge of her and was free to act as he thought fit" (p. 132). However she could not bear the idea of having sex with her "husband" and for two weeks she doesn't allow her new spouse to lay a finger on her. Rayyes, who could not impede his sexual needs any longer, is killed by Fatima in a struggle that proves to be the last thing she does.

In Midaq Alley, Hamida becomes a prostitute after Ibrahim Faraj, a wealthy Egyptian pimp, seduces her and recruits her as one of his established prostitutes. Faraj even persuades Hamida to completely abandon her old life, including her name: "That's your new name (Titi). Keep it and forget Hamida, for she has ceased to exist!" (p. 216). Sex is also indirectly related to the murder of Abbas, Hamida's fiancé, who in an act of rage throws a beer bottle at his fiancé, striking her in the face, after spotting her working in a Pub and surrounded by a group of men. As a result, her clients, most of whom are British soldiers, beat Abbas to death. Sex in Midaq Alley is also associated with pedophilia; Kirsha, the local café owner, shows his pedophilic nature while browsing for hashish at his dealer. He cajoles an adolescent, who works for the dealer, into visiting his café and comments on his boyish looks. However, what truly reveals his sexual tendencies to the reader occurs during a conversation, where kirsha's wife is complaining to her son about her husband suspicious acts, stating: "My boy, do you know your father is preparing a new scandal for us?" (p. 73). Furthermore, she calls Kirsha's "new friend" a home wrecker, and tells her son that his father is back to his old ways, meaning that the man has most probably engaged in pedophilia in the past.

In both novels sex is used by the protagonists to fulfill certain needs and desires. In Midaq Alley, Hamida's disgust for the street in which she lives, her neighbors and almost everything related to poverty is repeatedly pointed out throughout the novel. As the daughter of a poor landlord, in an alley filled with poor prospects for wealthy husbands, Hamida's chances of becoming rich and living a luxurious life seem dim. In addition, her deprivation from the materialistic riches in life and the image she has built in her mind concerning the "rich" and "happy" Jewish factory girls cause her to develop a complex: the only way she feels she can be truly happy is if she becomes rich in order to buy fancy clothes and jewelry, like her factory girl idols. As a result she becomes a prostitute and uses sex to procure her materialistic needs, which seem to give her the life she always wanted: "she now looked like a woman who from birth had known only the luxuries of life"(p. 254). Therefore her drive to become a prostitute is merely based on money.

In Season of Migration to the North, Mustafa has sex with British women because it seems to the reader that he is gradually taking his revenge from the British Empire. By capitalizing on his ethnicity, he is able to "capture" women that are eager to experience the exotic (i.e. Mustafa) via sex. Through intercourse Mustafa tries to conquer his women both mentally and physically. Therefore, in his own way, he is "bringing down" the British Empire since it stripped him from the love and compassion of every woman he was close to throughout his whole life. As a child, due to his superior intellect, the British find the education in Sudan not worthy of Mustafa and decide to move him to Egypt where a proper education is available. This causes his separation from the primary female figure in his life, his mother. "That was our farewell: no tears, no kisses, no fuss" (p. 23). Sa'eed also comments about the latter moment stating: "I remembered that moment and I wept" (p. 23). Once in Egypt another Female figure enters his life, Mrs. Robinson which shows him love and affection of a mother. When Mustafa finishes his school education, the British government moves him this time to their homeland to offer him a university education worthy of his intellect. Therefore Mustafa is separated once more from another major female figure in his life, who proves to be a loyal friend since she attends all of Mustafa's trial hearings.

In Season of Migration to the North, sex is full of meaning and is fueled by passion due to Mustafa's child experiences. Mustafa is satisfying his revengeful urges and he feels that he must conquer the British women he sleeps with, both mentally and physically. This is most apparent when he encounters Jean Morris. Throughout the whole novel, Mustafa finds ways to let women come to him. In this case it is completely the opposite; Mustafa finds it frustrating that Jean does not show him the attention he craves. She refuses to give in to his mental games. Mustafa even threatens to kill her at times because of her mental toughness: "No longer capable of taking anymore, one night I stood over her with a knife" (p. 158). However, one night, his obsession takes over him and he kills Jean Morris. Sex in Midaq Alley appears to have no emotional value, as opposed to sex in Season of Migration to the North. Hamida's finds no salvation or peace of mind obtained through sex, it is merely a way for her to procure money. Only after Ibrahim Faraj grooms her in the ways of the oldest profession in the world, Hamida finally discovers a path to money and the riches she always felt she deserved. Unlike Mustafa who finds a deep satisfaction while having sex with women, Hamida's sexual relations are merely superficial and her trail of thought goes no farther than the money at hand. Her sex life, described vividly only once in the novel, involves merely the physical pleasure she felt while having sex with her pimp. This is emphasized by the fact that Mahfouz did not provide the feelings of the protagonists while having sex; unlike Salih who intentionally presented the reader with Mustafa's thoughts while having sex in order for the reader to discover more about Sa'eed, to which extent past experiences have influenced him, and to show how he is manifesting them.

All in all, sex appears to have many faces in Season of Migration to the North and Midaq Alley as it is portrayed through different sexualities fueled by distinct needs. While Mahfouz chooses to describe and reveal the nature of his protagonists through means other than sex in his novel, Salih, due to the nature of the experiences his protagonist is subjected to, finds that sex is the most suitable way for him to ideally portray the motives of Mustafa. Therefore in one novel, the psychological compulsions stimulating sex are crucial for the understanding of one character; while in the other, sex is merely a tool, a perfunctory exploit that allows one character to fulfill her dreams. Nevertheless, in both novels, sex has a grim "aura" due to its implications with death, prostitution and pedophilia.

References:

Mahfouz, N. (1992). Midaq Alley. New York: Anchor Books, a Division of random house, Inc.

Salih, T. (1991). Season of Migration to the North. Oxford, UK: Heinemann.