Midaq Alley

The alley functions as a microcosm of Egyptian society, showing the control that conservative social and religious values exert on personal relationships. Characters such as Hamida embody the dichotomy between pursuing individual goals and adhering to traditional norms. Hamida’s yearning for upward mobility drives her to manipulate her relationships, especially with men. Her engagement to Abbas, a barber, and her subsequent unrealized attempt to marry the older, wealthy Salim Alwan illustrate the complex negotiations between love, economic security, and social status for women who reject traditional gender roles. Hamida’s decisions are not purely individual but are emblematic of the pressures felt by many in a society where financial stability often trumps emotional fulfillment.

Another character who embodies the tension between personal and societal expectations of love and sexuality is Kirsha, the café owner. Kirsha grapples with his sexual orientation in a religiously conservative, heteronormative society. His attraction to members of the same sex is a source of shame for his family due to the perceived threat it poses to the family’s reputation and honor. Their secrecy about it underscores the importance of maintaining a façade of respectability within their community. As a result of social and familial pressure, Kirsha sees his sexuality as “dirty” (97). However, he continues his pursuit of personal fulfillment on his own terms. Kirsha’s attitude is expressed in his response to Radwan Hussainy, who tries to convince Kirsha to abandon his sexual pursuits: “All men do many things that are dirty and this is one of them. So leave me to find my own path. Don’t be angry with me and please accept my apologies and regrets” (97).

Despite the tensions Kirsha navigates, his sexual orientation is in some way at least recognized by the community. In the café, Sheikh Darwish comments: “It’s an old evil. In English they call it ‘homosexuality’ and it is spelled h-o-m-o-s-e-x-u-a-l-i-t-y. But it is not love” (104). That “homosexuality” is spelled in English reveals its association with modernity and Western “immorality” in the locals’ minds. They categorize everything that deviates from traditional mores as modern and English to draw a firm boundary around what they consider acceptable and unacceptable ways of life. Kirsha’s situation is further complicated by his patriarchal role in his family. His strained relationship with his wife, who is aware of his affairs with young men, illustrates the difficulty of balancing personal fulfillment and social responsibility in a traditional society.

Midaq Alley depicts Egypt’s rigid class divisions and their effect on individual relationships. Before British colonial rule, Egyptian society was a feudal system of landowners (or feudal lords) and enslaved people, which created a wide gulf between the rich and the poor. The early 20th century saw the development of a distinct, modern economic system, sustained by an emerging middle class of merchants and clerks. During World War II, many merchants amassed considerable wealth by taking advantage of the new technologies, means of communication, and markets resulting from the large number of foreign troops on Egyptian soil.

An example of a merchant who becomes rich during the war is Salim Alwan, who has a shop in Midaq Alley and whose wealth allows him to enjoy a comfortable life. His sons have already left Midaq Alley; they are educated and belong to a distinct class. Alwan, however, is still a merchant, and the alley’s activity still determines his life’s course. He feels that his wealth is not enough to grant him the security that being born into a higher class would bring, so he plans to obtain the honorary title of “Bey” and take a second wife—Hamida—to bring him closer to the status of the feudal lords of the past.

When his heart attack hinders his plans to obtain the noble title and marry Hamida, Alwan’s temper changes, and he becomes paranoid about those around him and lashes out at those who cannot defend themselves. Unlike his sons, who are established in the middle to upper class, Alwan has one foot in Midaq Alley and one in the larger world. The division represents the internal struggle with which Alwan lives. His interactions with other alley inhabitants following his heart attack exemplify how economic influence translates into authority over others, perpetuating a cycle of subordination that reinforces economic, if not class, hierarchies.

The alley’s inhabitants represent various social strata, and each struggles to navigate the constraints and aspirations their class limits impose. For example, Abbas’s aspirations to elevate his status by working for the British Army are perpetually hindered by the weight of his lower-class background. His unrequited love for Hamida exemplifies how class divides can hinder genuine human connection. Hamida’s longing for upward mobility drives her to seek wealth in relationships with higher-ranking men, such as Salim Alwan or Ibrahim Faraj. The stark distinction between Abbas’s humble background and Hamida’s ambition highlights class division as an obstacle to genuine emotional connections.

The influx of foreign soldiers during the war brings both economic opportunities and challenges for women in Egyptian society. The introduction of new ideas, goods, and cultures highlights the tension between preserving traditional ways of life and embracing modernization. This is evident in the character of Hamida, who is drawn to the allure of consumerism and the materialistic aspirations of Western culture, leading her to make choices that challenge traditional norms. Hamida’s ambitions are not only material. Rather, she is influenced by the growing freedom that women were starting to have at the end of the war in Egypt. Normally, a woman could not be single and live on her own, as this was against customs and religious mores. A woman had to be either under parental or spousal authority. However, during the 1940s in Egypt, a growing number of women were breaking away from the traditional way of life due to the war economy, which allowed women to have jobs and become independent. This is more difficult for someone like Hamida, who comes from a traditional background, does not have a job, and cannot support herself. Hamida realizes this and attempts to manipulate cultural norms while hoping for the freedom that wealth would bring her.

Ibrahim Faraj, the “headmaster” of the sex workers whose ranks Hamida joins, signifies the danger that accompanies such moments of change. With Hamida’s dreams of a carefree, glamorous life, she is an easy target for Faraj, who renames her Titi—the street name that she adopts for sex work. Using the contrast between a modern couple’s life of ease and the image of the traditional family that Hamida already despises, Faraj tells her, “I want a lover and partner with whom I can plunge headlong through life, a life filled with gaiety, prosperity, dignity, and happiness, not a life of household drudgery, pregnancy, children, and filth. I want a life for us like the film stars we were talking about earlier” (196). Faraj’s proposal is like an advertisement for the kind of life Hamida craves. It uses cliches and an artificially created contrast to sell her a dream. The reality, of course, is very different. From this point of view, Hamida is not prepared to face the realities of modernity, such as the exploitation that she will face. Hamida represents a social stratum that is not yet fully equipped to face the impending social changes brought on by the war. The consumerist Western values that become more prominent at the end of the war are in stark contrast to the traditional Islamic values that most people hold. For women, this presents a complex web of dangers and opportunities.