The Answer Is No Naguib Mahfouz

628 Words3 Pages
Naguib Mahfouz made the reader understand the suffering of the women in our society. He tried to show us the tragic position that the young girl had in the short story "The Answer Is No". Also he succeeded in analyzing the psychology of the young girl, and how she could overcome the trap that the man put her in. The short story is entitled "The Answer Is No" because the young girl revolted against the male-dominated society, her weakness, and also to the future love and the past that she had by saying "NO". When she was raped, she didn't understand what had happened to her, and she was shocked and every inch of her body was trembling. In fact, it was as if her whole body screamed "No". We can figure out from what Maguib Mahfouz wrote," How, then, had it happened? Without love or desire on her part the thing had happened. She had asked in terror about what had occurred." In fact, the word "No" grew up with the young girl from the beginning when the man raped her. In the short story "The Answer Is No" there were two choices that the young girl had to choose from. The two choices that she had in the end were miserable and sad. Naguib Mahfouz wrote "she had either to accept marriage, or close the door for ever", which means either to live with a man who abused her innocence, took her virginity, and tried always to build a wall around her, or to accept to live alone without love. With very few choices left, she was able to say "No" and reject the man who destroyed her life. The word "No" related to the events that had happened to the young girl with male-dominated society too. The reader from the beginning sympathizes with the young girl in the story. The man made the young girl hostage to him when he raped her. Badran Badrawi said, "Don't be frightened or sad. Keep it to yourself and I'll come and propose to you the day you come of age", which means he put her in his
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