Veiled Women · Chapter
XXXV explained
Barakah, distraught and determined to reach the El Afîfi cemetery to pray and die, wanders through the night with the donkey-boy Selîm.
What happens
Barakah, distraught and determined to reach the El Afîfi cemetery to pray and die, wanders through the night with the donkey-boy Selîm. She encounters the bustling, fearful streets of Cairo after the English arrival, a brief rest in Selîm's mother's home, a terrifying encounter with robbers in the cemetery, and finally collapses from exhaustion on the plain below the citadel. She awakens to a mysterious, sweet voice.
Themes in this chapter
Religion and Conversion
Barakah's prayer oscillates between Christian and Muslim forms, reflecting her tangled religious identity and desperation.
Superstition and Tradition
The fear of jinn, the belief in afrîtah (spirits), and the robbers' superstitious flight from Barakah's mad charge highlight the role of superstition.
Characters to notice
Key passages
“Her prayer now took the Christian form, and now the Muslim; the two religions growing tangled in her tired mind.”
In her exhaustion, Barakah's prayers mixed Christian and Muslim elements, showing her confused faith.
Illustrates her spiritual turmoil and the blending of religious traditions.
“Their fear is of the English," said the donkey-boy. "Who knows what they will do by way of punishment?"”
Selîm explains that people are hiding their valuables out of fear of what the English might do.
Reflects the historical context of English conquest and the populace's anxiety.