Stream of Consciousness

How, why, and to what effect does Mahfouz use stream-of-consciousness narration in the novel?

‘Stream of consciousness’ is a literary technique in which authors are able to portray a character’s reaction and interpretations of their surroundings through the use of internal dialogue, which runs parallel to the plot of a novel that uses third person omniscient narration. Through the utilization of this technique, the readers are effectively immersed in the protagonist’s thoughts, getting uncensored access to the deepest thoughts of the character’s mind and a sensation of getting lost within the plot of the novel. 

Arabic author and adaptor of psychological realism, Naguib Mahfouz uses stream of consciousness in his novel The Thief and The Dogs. This portrayed an effective rejection of the panoramic narration that was entailed in romanticism. Mahfouz applied this technique to dive deep into the Psyche of protagonist Said Mahran, who having arrived to a post-post-Revolutionary Egypt following his imprisonment on charges of thievery, experiences a fast mental decay as he is consumed by feelings or rage, hate and betrayal.

Throughout the novel, Mahfouz intercalates between third person omniscient narration and Said’ internal monologues as a use of stream of consciousness. This provides a direct insight into Said’s interpretation of a changing Egypt that he can’t seem to reconcile with, in addition to his impressions that are consequent of his encounters with those who he deems as betrayers. In the first chapters, upon being rejected by his own daughter Sana, Mahfouz utilizes stream of consciousness in order to expose the heartbreak and frustration that comes attached to that traumatic experience. In essence, the use of stream of consciousness enables the reader to empathize with the protagonist, which as a feature of modernism, effectively helps erode the villain archetype that Said would otherwise represent. In addition, the use of animal imagery through the novel when Mahfouz choose to use stream of consciousness aid in characterizing Said as a barbaric protagonist consumed by his hate towards his backstabbers. For instance, upon being released from prison, Said describes himself as “a man who can dive like a fish, fly like a hawk, scale walls like a rat, pierce solid doors like a bullet!”. This use of imagery effectively characterizes him as animalistic in his nature, which further emphasizes the gradual decay of his psyche as the novel progresses. Most importantly, however, the use of imagery considered in conjunction with the insecurities and trauma exposed in the use of stream of consciousness helps construct a three dimensional protagonist who through his complexity, invites the audience to feel empathy. 

As the novel progresses, a more exponential decay in Said’s psyche is observed as the stream of consciousness reveals that Said’s emotions are more volatile. This is further enhanced through the use of a fast paced plot. This suggested loss of control is portrayed in Said’s belief that he is an excellent thief, which is contradicted by his inability to rob Rauf’s house, killing two innocent people and his eventual capture and death at the hands of the police. In addition, Said’s dream featuring his acquittal continues to highlight his deteriorating mental state as he aims to justify his violent and incoherent actions with his own interpretation of morale and justice. Essentially, the continued use of stream of consciousness continues to provide valuable insight into Said’s volatile mind, characterizing him as an incoherent and traumatized protagonist who has failed to reconcile with his new life upon being freed from prison. 

Upon consideration of the context of production, it must be noted that Mahfouz’s alignment with psychological realism through the use of stream of consciousness was his vehicle to comment on post-revolutionary Egypt. Following the success of the 1952 Revolution and Nasser’s subsequent consolidation of power in the form of authoritarianism meant that pure intellectual and liberty in Egypt was eradicated. The sense of paranoia attached to that implication in addition to a sense of meaninglessness and confusion was personally experience by Mahfouz. Hence, the use of stream of consciousness was his way of communicating to the audience that confusion, and the duality in reality. This is mirrored in Said’s exposure to the duality of his own reality and that of the real world.

Similarly to Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart, both authors have used third person omniscient narration. However, the purposes of this aforementioned narrative technique are different. On the one hand, Mahfouz has chosen to use this narrative technique to create a distinct comparative contrast to the use of stream of consciousness to create a duality of reality. This serves to characterize Said’s mental decay as the contrast of dualities helps to highlight how volatile his psyche has become. Contrastingly, Achebe uses third person omniscient narration consistently throughout the novel to create a plurality of voices in the novel. This purposefully serves to tackle the single story hegemonic principle that dominated the view towards African cultures preceding the precolonial literary movement.