A Reading of the Novel "Desirable Death " by Emad Cheha: - Literature - News

A Reading of the Novel "Desirable Death " by Emad Cheha: The transformations of Rabab Abdu-ljabar In his first narrative attempt, Emad Cheha, the oldest political prisoner in the region and maybe in the world, addresses a traditional story. He wanted it to be a reflection of reality which is full of opportunism, discrimination and pain. And through his account of realistic events, which disrupt the life of a rural family who is drowning in a maze of societal customs and traditions as well as different tendencies of nostalgia, hope and despair. It seems like a classical story for someone who reads it for the first time because he might think he has read it before or has seen it in a dramatic work. But the difference with this novel is it's distinctive style which transports us to the style of writers from the 1950's. Whenever the author gets deeply involved in the inner worlds of his heroes, he makes them easy to understand to the reader, relying on his superior use of language and expression. The story talks about a young girl from a rural family named Rabab Abdu-ljabar, who almost succeeded in breaking the iron chains which oppressed her peers in the Syrian countryside. She chose for herself what she wanted. She decided her own destiny, and that destiny was a death she desired by her own hands. The story begins when her family decides to marry her to her cousin, Ghanem Al-Dabiea, in order to make him forgive them for the murder of his brother by Rabab's brother. But Rabab is an educated girl who is barely allowed to live in the city and work as a pharmacist. She refuses the deal and tries to persuade her father, who is the most valuable person to her in her life, to stop the deal. Here begins the problem. Her father loves her to a great extent, which is demonstrated in the novel in many places: "If she wasn't a girl?! How can you say that now? And you had dreamt about her day and night until she came without telling anyone that you were counting the stars and waiting for her arrival and watching the rain fall." The father finds himself lost between his daughter's refusal, his desire to solve the problem which faces the family, and his inability to abandon his decision. All the while, he is hoping the solution will come to him somehow. The solution had two parts: the first part, which carries with it the most important events in the novel, is when Rabab subconsciously kills her father and the second is when she chose to commit suicide in order to prevent her family from killing her. The Characters of the Novel: The author depends on psychological analysis for the presentation of the characters. The main male characters are exhausted individuals who are drowning in cruel relationships whose foundation are injustice. The oldest brother, Nassif, represents the opportunistic character which may do anything to arrive at his goal. An example of this is forcing Rabab to marry her cousin in order to end the problem. Other examples are his greediness relating to his father's heritage and pressuring his younger brother, Wassem, to kill Rabab. Her other brother Nawaf is an example of simple-minded person who is treated as a pawn. He is forbidden to make his own decisions until he becomes a slave of other people's will. There is a simple teacher named Adil who is lost in his dreams of changing his society and his difficult circumstances. Wassem represents the world of innocence in the novel. Due to the failure of his maternalistic relationship with his sister, we see him at the end of the novel trying to kill her under the influence of his brother, Nassif. Also there is Hussein, who is still in prison and doesn't carry full responsibility for his actions. Female Characters: Emad Cheha paints a very realistic picture of his female characters. These characters appear defeated and are unable to change their reality. They surrender to the daily suffering of their upbringing. Only one of them, the heroine Rabab, tried to rebel against reality when she chose a special path for herself. She didn't succeed at opening that path because her troubled society was dominated by male authority. This authority made women nothing more than possessions. "She intended to be something different from her mother, her aunts and her daughters, and her friends. She searched among them for someone she could share her inner feelings with, without declaring it publicly." The best reflection of these kinds of surrendered women is the mom "Amena" who appears unable to make a decision that would help her daughter. "The old woman was crying in order to hide her inability to fight side by side with her daughter." The character of the mother represents the cruelty which she was exposed to through her husband. "She (the mother) was never able to object. She was never easy going and didn't calm down until she was beaten to submission for many years. She swallowed her tongue and looked just like a ghost." And then there is Anhar, a girl who was forced into prostitution despite her father's wealthy position in society. The Prison World Emad Cheha was successful in describing the prison world because he spent about thirty years in it. So we see him talking about precise details that take us inside this world…isolation, imprisonment, fear…"She lost her senses and started to hit the confined walls. She rested in the corner, protecting her back, and focused her attention in front of her." "A pudgy-faced man at the door put a blind fold tightly on her and suddenly she found her hands tied with handcuffs. She heard screams all around her and the sound of banging doors…She went up one set of stairs and down another, she turned left and then right." But somehow he tells us how feelings of freedom, hope, and strength can be born in a prison. "Despite everything be cheerful, there is nothing that can interfere with your life or your thoughts." "And just when the iron doors were closed and the keys jingled, she took a deep breath, sitting on the ground. She didn't need to do anything except wash her hands and sleep." Desirable Death: In this novel, Emad Cheeha presents a strong condemnation for social injustice through his characters who appear-with the exception of Rabab- marginalized. These characters, which don't show any resistance when facing their lives, have no social aims and no hope to change the reality of their lives. Only fantasy makes them feel that they are still alive. It is a realistic novel, that is searching for the essence of our complicated civilization. It addresses the truth and faces a society which is unable to face itself. Emad Cheha succeeds because of his ability to observe social life, portray its characters, and because of his fantastic description. He succeeded in criticizing social reality, with all of its contradictions, because he realized what was going on, in spite of his long absence from us. Emad exposed us to his eternal longing for justice and freedom… ِ Yahya Alous Bibliography: Title: Desirable Death- The transformations of Rabab Abdu-ljabar-Stories from Behind the Walls The writer: Emad Cheha-number of pages: 271 The publisher: Dar Al-Sawsan: Damascus: Year of First Edition 2005 Cover drawing: from the artist Youssef Abdalki

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