According to Nedal M. al-Mousa, in the specific case of the Arabic Bildungsroman, the theme of the art of living is replaced by the central issue of teaching the hero how to reconcile two opposing cultures, the Arab and Western (reference). In these novels the main protagonist leaves home to the West to seek his fortune and realize his ambitions, where he experiences a variety of experiences that shape him. Examples of this storyline can be found below:
- Yaḥyā Ḥaqqī (1905 – 1992, Egypt) – Qindīl Umm Hāshim (1944, English trans. The Lamp of Umm Hashim, 2006). Ismaʿil, the main protagonist, goes through a spiritual crisis while studying in England and feels estranged from his environment upon returning to Egypt (reference). The novel tells the story of the successful accommodation of Eastern and Western values (reference) (see for more information in S: Social Issues and Societal Change: Modernity: Between Tradition and Modernity and W: Outside the Arab world: West and the Arab world: Europe: England.
- Suhayl Idrīss (1925 – 2008, Lebanon) – al-Ḥayy al-Lātīnī (‘The Latin Quarter’, 1958). In Paris, liberated from the traditions of his native culture, the central character sets out to live his life at the highest pitch, an undertaking central to his education and his quest for self. The Latin Quarter is not the Bildungsroman only of the central character, but of almost all the Arab characters studying in Paris (reference) (also in W: Outside the Arab world: West and Arab World: Europe: France).
- Abdellatif Laâbi (1942- , Morocco) – Le fond de la jarre (2002, English trans. The Bottom of the Jar, 2013). This novel depicts a young boy growing up in Morocco in the 1950s painted by his struggle with the French colonial grip, family dramas, and the joys of childhood. The novel also critiques the nationalist movement which created a national myth that the sultan, who was exiled by the French for about two years, was seen on the moon (reference)(also in 1956 Independence Morocco).
Refrences:
In order of appearance
- Nedal M. al-Mousa. 1993. “The Arabic Bildungsroman: A Generic Appraisal.” IJMES, 25 (2): 223-240, p. 226, 227, 231, 238
- EAL, p. 271
- Anna Cavness. 2013. “Inscriptions of the Sovereign Body in Abdellatif Laâbi.” Research in African Literatures 44(1): 75-90, p. 76