Representations of Power in the Novel "The Heart of the Night" by Naguib Mahfouz in the Light of Social Criticism (Patriarchal, Material, and Religious Authority as a Model)

Abstract

The contemporary novel took a functional role in approaching the political, religious, and social situations. The contemporary novelist simplified his ideas through the fictional text and there is a relationship between society and the realistic text, as the descriptions of societies took a wide space in the novel in relation to the rest of the literary genres, and the novelists called for knowledge of society and salvation from extremist religious, social, and political obstruction. In this research, we will show the social representations and their manifestations in the novel "The Heart of the Night" by the Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz.

This research comes according to the descriptive - analytical approach to show the representations of power in the novel "The Heart of the Night", where the national authority appears, and the conflict between Egyptian Arab nationalism and gypsy groups on the one hand, and the power of classes and the material situation on the other hand, then the religious authority that plays an important role in the novel. As we see the expulsion of personalities from the family for two reasons: the first reason is the national authority, and the second reason is the religious authority, as the main character contradicts religious representations and family traditions, and in the end, the political authority is the one that stifles the money of others, and despite its knowledge of the owner of this money and its heirs, but it prevents him. In the results of this research, we will see the impact of the authority of this triangle on the lives of the characters, and the role of each of these matters in obstructing life.