Hanan al-Shaykh wrote the short story "Yasmine's Picture." The author is a Lebanese writer with a wonderful specialization in arabic fiction. I observed how feminine the boy's point of view in the short story was as I read the entire thing. The short story is around a male who harbors secret love for a girl named Yasmine. Because of the depth of the plot, it is significantly different from the typical story. I mentioned it's distinct and odd from other stories because I noted it has a feminist theory approach, but instead of a girl being the femine in the story, it's a boy.
“Once again, he found himself in front of her picture, gazing at those feline eyes, her rising, tanned forehead, delicate small nose and full lips.” The opening sentence of the short novella shows how far the boy's affections extend to the girl named Yasmine. It states it again, implying that they had seen each other previously. He also asked about Yasmine to his wife, who seems to be pregnant. He can't stop admiring Yasmine and even compares her to the bedsheet that the wife is putting on their bed. This one, I don't believe it truly surreal because it happened in real life. There are several articles and other postings on the internet that expose their boyfriend or spouse cheating on them, regardless of whether they have children or not. This societal issue should not be normalized. He envisioned her wife as if she were Yasmine.
They were also awakened from their slumber by large explosions outdoors at the moment. They were quite distressed since they were in another residence and the ceasefire was breached again barely 5 days later. His wife is eight months pregnant, and he considers how difficult it will be for them to walk outdoors if his wife gives birth to their child. When his wife advised that they stay in their flat away from the explosion, he was thinking that he should not choose his sister-in-side law's rather than his wife's. They had no idea the bomber would infringe again. The guy was thinking that if they were in their flat in Chiya, he must be in their compound playing and having fun without even thinking about how they would get out of the predicament. As he looks down the street and sees no one, he hopes to see someone and strike up a conversation, but he fails. He can't image how difficult it must have been for them with his pregnant wife. "Yes, you're right, you're correct," the lady says, demonstrating her affection for her husband in only single chat. It depicts how the wife in every family acts well, even if their husband is being stubborn, even if he knows it is his fault for going on that flat and even opposing it with the wife. They would not have an issue if he had listened to his wife.
To summarize the narrative, it is not a typical story that you can understand without thinking critically, but this one is unique. However, the narrative itself is amazing since it allows you to gain knowledge. It also demonstrates how Arabs behaved during wartime and how skillfully they prepared foods because conflicts are expected to last a long time. The battle is unavoidable, and your only option is to stay at home and be safe. I can also see how the author shows the audience how powerful women are. Men may consider them as a low one since they are just at home and preparing for the necessities, oblivious to how powerful they are. It depicts how a married man acts, even though he has a wife and children. They can still be smitten by other women, and this should not be normalized. The lady may still be cool and merely act as if she was fine with your decision and does not blame you if there are exceptional circumstances, and she can still respect you even though you are incorrect and still the one who is furious. The short story is one of the most interesting stories I've read.
Author's Note
Hello there. I can't write a nice article today, so I'll just publish this reaction paper I wrote for my friend's cousin when she asked me to help her with it. It is the reaction paper, which is still useful to share if you are in grade 11 these days.
I went out with a friend today, and my laptop's wifi has been down since last night, so I'm only using my phone. Could someone please assist me in reactivating the wifi on my laptop? I was just watching a series last night when it suddenly disconnected from the wifi and I couldn't connect until now. It keeps telling me to troubleshoot, but the problem is still unresolved. Can you help me with this?
Lead image fromUnsplash.
Publishing Date: May 18, 2022
Parang nakaka-intriga talaga mga fiction stories galing sa mga magagaling na authors eh. Malalim ang pinanggagalingan.