The ethically questionable actions of the characters in The Yacoubian Building illustrate the moral deficits that can arise from a corrupt political system. Alaa al-Aswany put his characters in unfortunate circumstances to show how the shortcomings of the government altered many of the characters’ views of morality. For example, even though Hagg Azzam attained his position in parliament through bribery and deceit, he still thought himself a pious and God-fearing man since this was the only way to advance in society with the current government. There appeared to be several distinct themes throughout the novel related to the negative effects of a greed-driven society.
Throughout the novel, I noticed that necessity versus self-respect seemed to be one of the most apparent and painful recurring themes. Situations in which necessity for money became more important than personal dignity forced many of the characters in The Yacoubian Building to subject themselves to degrading and disgusting experiences. Not surprisingly, most of the people trapped in these situations were female. The author illustrated such a situation with the character Souad Gaber. Hagg Azzam married Souad after a meeting with her elder brother in which he offered a sizeable sum of money (the author likens this meeting to a “business transaction” (p. 54)). Souad “…feels nauseated whenever she touches his body, as though she were putting her hand on a lizard or a revolting, slimy frog…” (p.126), but she suffers these indignities silently in order to provide a life without poverty for her young son.
Busyana and Abduh are two more characters who sacrifice their dignity to support family members. Busyana endures disgraceful treatment from her boss Talal, just so she can support her siblings. Just before her first sleazy incidence with Talal in the storeroom, she repeats her mother’s words to herself, “Your brother and sisters need every penny you earn. A clever girl can look after herself and keep her job” (p.45). Abduh is another character who is no stranger to financial struggle. He tells Hatim, “My wife and little boy live off of what I earn, Excellency. I wish I could get out of the army right away-if I go to prison, my family will be done for” (p.78). Hatim is happy to give Abduh whatever he needs as long as Abduh continues to be his lover. Despite Abduh’s moral aversion to homosexuality, he continues the relationship in order to escape poverty.
Aswany constructed characters that seemed at first to be good-hearted and untarnished by all that they had overcome, but quickly became bitter and cynical about the world. For example, Busyana began as a girl with strong ambition, “At the time Busyana was studying for a commercial diploma and had dreams for the future that it would never have occurred to her might not come true” (p. 40). After being treated like a sex object and realizing the cruel realities of the world she lived in, she at times seemed to be as bitter as an old man, echoing Zaki Bey’s thoughts in stating, “All my life I’ve had bad luck in everything” (p.217).
Like Busyana, Taha is another example of a person transformed by the harsh conditions of society. An intelligent but poor young man, he endures unwarranted condescending treatment from almost everyone around him, and his dream of being a police officer is crushed based solely on his economic status. The rejection from the Police Academy is devastating to Taha, but he soon finds solace in Islam. A devastating and obvious loss of his innocence is apparent in the events following his lifestyle change. In a discussion with Sheikh Shakir following Taha’s torture, Taha states, “I’m dead now, they killed me in detention…I’m not afraid of death any longer” (p.190). I saw these changes in the characters as a form of corruption, symbolizing in one way the corruption of the government.
In contrast with the elegant flow and subtle wording of The Naqib’s Daughter, the graphic scenes and raw emotion in The Yacoubian Building were indeed shocking. Both books portrayed human’s hunger for power, but Alaa al-Aswany portrays the characters in The Yacoubian Building in a more unscrupulous fashion than Samia Serageldin did in her novel. It seems that Aswany wrote in this coarse style to unveil some of the heinous transgressions inflicted upon the Egyptian people and cause people to at least ponder the state of Egypt’s government in the 1990’s.