How does Mahfouz illustrate how fate is a major determiner of one’s happiness in life?
Through the main character, Said, Mahfouz manages to illustrate how fate may play a major determiner of one's happiness in life. Said's birth in a lower class system immediately initiates a conflict with the higher classes and society due to his lack of opportunities and interaction with other people. He had no control over his birth within society, location or family which identifies the event as a form of fate. The circumstances of his birth were left up to faith and now directly impact his happiness as he did not receive as many options as others with his Dad requiring a degree of persuasion in order to allow him to study in a school. This is continued by the uncontrollable event of the death of both his parents, leaving him as an orphan. Not only were these events uncontrollable and up to fate but also lead him to the disrespectful interaction in the luxury hospital with his sick mother. This situation leads him to experience the complex dynamic between the socio-economical classes which fuels his hatred and even drives him to steal while his mother is sick. These events determined his happiness during these time periods and are what fueled his hatred for the higher class society of Egypt further corrupting his soul of any form of happiness. Having a predisposition in society due to his birth was up to fate which is continued by the uncontrollable events which unravelled around him.
Fate diminishing the possibility of happiness in his life is continued by the actions of others around him as he has no personal control of the behaviour of others. His childhood events lead him to seek safety, admiration and trust in others like Ilish, Rauf and Nabawiyya. However, he is betrayed by Ilish and is sent to jail further limiting his possible happiness in life as he is further constricted. This peripeteia is heightened by Nabawiyya's infidelity leading him to want revenge which prevents him from finding new happiness in love with Nur or religion with the Sheikh.
Mahfouz demonstrates how fate as in birth or the actions of others may inherently control one's happiness as there is only so much freedom an individual has within society. He does not limit the idea of free-will playing a role but simply highlights the difficulty to determine one's happiness injunction with one's own fate.
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