Si El-Sayed throws open the doors to his home. Amina welcomes him with unconditional servitude; she is the picture of a diligent wife—and he, the tyrannical, seldom-smiling despot. The streetlight creates a cast between them, a power imbalance that colors their curt, one-sided conversation. Amina scuttles off to prepare a midnight meal, and Si El-Sayed watches her leave. He smells of rum and women’s perfume; he has just returned from the cabaret. Nobel prize laureate Naguib Mahfouz brought Si El-Sayed to life in his Bayn al-Qasryen (Palace Walk, 1956): the first installment of a trilogy that picked apart the sociopolitical debris of Egypt’s 20th century. From unchecked hope and revolution to tragedy and hypocrisy, The Cairo Trilogy (1956-1957) did more than describe modern Egypt—it defined its parameters and critiqued its major players. Nothing was sacred to Mahfouz; archaic culture was examined, exhumed, and politics admonished. Born from the residue of Egypt’s patriarchy was Bayn al-Qasryen’s anti-hero: Si El-Sayed. At its most elemental, the name is a deriding anagram with Si meaning sir, and El-Sayed being a common Egyptian name translating to glorious/revered among men or master. In essence, Mahfouz’s Si…
How Mahfouz’s Ironic Si El-Sayed Became a Benchmark for Egyptian Masculinity
June 13, 2022
