Palace Walk

Amina is the second wife of al-Sayyid Ahmad. After the failure of his first marriage, he places strict limits and demands on Amina. Neither she nor her two daughters, Khadija and Aisha, are allowed to leave the family house. Amina is confined to the house at all times, and her entire life is based upon accommodating her husband’s routine and making sure that his rules are obeyed. Even by the standards of Egyptian society at the time, the restrictions placed upon Amina are severe. Other women are allowed out of the house and can freely interact with other people, but al-Sayyid Ahmad feels the need to control his wife completely, and because she knows no other way of existing, Amina feels forced to comply.

Each day, she rises before her husband to begin her domestic routine. She works hard throughout the day, and when her husband goes out drinking with his friends and has affairs with other women, she waits dutifully until he arrives home and ensures that he is taken care of. Amina is so starved for genuine social interaction that she has come to love the interactions she has with al-Sayyid Ahmad when he is drunk. During these interactions, he talks to her as though she is an equal partner in their marriage rather than a servant who must prepare his meals. Amina’s entire life revolves around ensuring that her husband is happy, and for this reason, she ignores his hypocrisy. In her life of restrictions and impositions, Amina finds meaning in her children. Though they live under the same severe regime, the coffee hour meetings and family interactions provide Amina with a source of joy.

Amina’s life changes when she disobeys al-Sayyid Ahmad. While he is away, she listens to her children’s suggestion and makes a visit to a mosque. During this excursion, she is hit by a car and breaks her shoulder. She decides to be honest with her husband and tell him that she has broken his rule; as much as she tries to lie, she fears her husband too much to lie to him. After she is healed, al-Sayyid Ahmad tells her to leave his house. He ignores his own children’s pleas for her to come back until such a time when he feels that she is ready to return. Throughout this period of punishment, Amina accepts al-Sayyid Ahmad’s judgment. She never questions him, and she never again defies his orders not to leave the house. During her brief exile, Amina blames herself for breaking her husband’s rules. Amina may insist that she loves al-Sayyid Ahmad, but her love is situated in the context of immense fear.

After her return, Amina settles back into her familiar routine. She never leaves the house again and never comes close to breaking her husband’s rules. Her husband’s punishment is effective because it denies Amina access to her children. This form of emotional abuse separates Amina from the one source of happiness in her life and illustrates the level of control that al-Sayyid Ahmad exercises over her. By denying her access to her children, al-Sayyid Ahmad exerts a level of control that alters Amina’s behavior forever. She never again risks being separated from her children, as their presence in her life is the only thing that can truly bring her joy.

Yasin is the only child from al-Sayyid Ahmad’s first marriage. He continues to live with his father and has essentially been adopted by Amina. She treats him as her own son, and he enjoys the same privileges as his younger siblings. In many ways, Yasin is very similar to his father, for his taste for women and alcohol mirrors the aspects of his father’s secret life. While most of the family knows al-Sayyid Ahmad to be a domineering and stern family patriarch, Yasin is the first to learn about al-Sayyid Ahmad’s love of women and alcohol. This discovery pleases and reassures Yasin, for he convinces himself that he is following in his father’s footsteps. In truth, both men’s love of women is entirely physical. Neither character respects women enough to treat them as fellow people; instead, they see women as a means of satisfying their persistent lust. Yasin therefore inherits a dull echo of his father’s misogyny.

The inherited aspects of this misogyny are evident in the disrespect with which Yasin treats his own mother. She is barely named in the novel, and she appears in only two scenes. Yasin visits her once to criticize her for getting remarried, and he visits her when he hears that she is dying. He does not even invite his mother to his wedding because he is embarrassed by her string of failed relationships. He believes that these failed relationships have caused a scandal, but instead, these supposed rumors of scandal are a manifestation of the deep misogyny that the son has inherited from the father. Ironically, despite their righteous indignation at Yasin’s mother, both Yasin and his father have a string of illicit affairs. Yasin also causes numerous scandals in the house due to his inability to keep his sexual desires in check. Yasin’s attitude toward women—and, in particular, toward his mother—demonstrate the extent to which he has inherited his father’s misogynistic attitudes.

Although Yasin shares his father’s hypocrisy, he struggles to win his father’s respect. While al-Sayyid Ahmad consistently praises himself on his moderation and self-control regarding his extramarital affairs, Yasin lacks any form of discipline. For example, he tries to rape Umm Hanafi and later seduces his wife’s maid. He knows that he may be caught and is fully aware that his behavior is wrong, yet despite the risk of inviting scandal into his life, he proceeds nonetheless, demonstrating his lack of control and self-awareness. When his father catches him, he disciplines Yasin. As evidenced by al-Sayyid Ahmad’s internal monologue, however, his son’s crimes against these women are not the issue. Al-Sayyid Ahmad does not care that Yasin tried to rape Umm Hanafi, nor does he care that Zaynab feels scandalized by her husband’s affair. Instead, he is horrified that Yasin cannot control his lust. To al-Sayyid Ahmad, Yasin’s true crime is his inability to control his own desires. Since he cannot exercise self-control, he must be punished. Thus, even Yasin’s failures serve to illustrate his father’s deep-seated misogyny.