Oldal 43 [43]
THE POLITICS AND POETICS OF LANGUAGE USE
especially concerning gender issues. However, it also comments on 19" and
early 20" century orientalism, which was one of the cornerstones of British
and French policies in the Middle East. As we will see, Hammad’s “ethnograph¬
ic” descriptions of Nabulsi society, marriage being only one of the themes, are
in dialogue with the “ethnographic work” of two French characters, namely
Dr. Molineu and Pére Antoine.
As already mentioned, Molineu partly saw Midhat as an anthropological
study object, eliciting information from him on Arab proverbs, customs and
traditions, as well as the religious minority community of the Samaritans, with
the aim of developing a dubious—to say the least—social Darwinist theory.
Molineu’s secret intentions are alluded to by the relexified expression “The
lining of my heart is sewn with questions.”** The reader immediately feels that
this expression comes across as unnatural. For the reader who knows French
it evokes étre cousu de, meaning a huge amount of something. The expression
then can be interpreted as “my heart is / I am full of questions.” Molineu utters
this phrase during the conversation analyzed above and, as we indicated, one
of its layers is that Midhat was still struggling with his French. A second layer
of meaning, however, refers to Molineu’s hidden research intentions that go
far beyond a healthy curiosity about the cultural background of his guest and
are, as it were, hidden in “the lining of his heart”. The sartorial metaphor is
also rich because Midhat is fond of fashion. Moreover, once back in Nablus,
he is groomed to enter the textile business of his father and eventually starts
his own clothing store, Nouvautés Ghada.
The other anthropologist is Pere Antoine, also referred to in the novel as
Father Antoine (English) and Abuna Antoine (Arabic). He is a French mission¬
ary ethnographer who lives in Jerusalem and who writes an ethnographic study
about Nablus. He has lengthy conversations with the inhabitants of Nablus
and makes notes about the important families, their alliances and feuds, as
well as their relations with the fellahin. Therefore, he has a keen eye on the
social texture of Nablus, as well as the political sympathies of its inhabitants.
Due to his ethnographic immersion in Nabulsi society and his fluency in Ar¬
abic, he has direct access to Palestinian society and is much more empathetic
than Molineu. His long-standing experience in Palestine and close interactions
with Palestinians put him in a complex insider—outsider position that is in
some ways comparable to, but also different from, Midhat’s situation in France."
Again a couple of code-switches, of which I will give only one example, under¬
score this: “Just milk for me,’ Antoine said to the server. The boy looked blank.
‘Bas haleeb.’ Antoine pointed at the jug.”*° His position is further complicated
84 Hammad: “The Parisian or Al-Barisi”, 12.
85 A few fleeting encounters between Abuna Antoine and Midhat allude to a certain sense of
mutual recognition between the two characters.
86 Hammad: “The Parisian or Al-Barisi”, 312.
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