The King’s Injustice
“In Camera,” by the Egyptian author Nawal El Saadawi, largely focuses on two themes: female social standings in oppressive societies, and torture (physical abuse) of women. The story centers on Leila, a young girl who is imprisoned for calling the king of her nation “stupid.”
Although this dictatorial regime could be compared to the social system of any oppressive regime from world history, the idea of being thrown in jail and tortured for calling a politician “stupid” is very shocking and hard to understand in a society such as ours. This is something that occurs daily in the U.S. – people criticize the government and the president every day, and often call politicians names without the fear of being raped and beaten. Yet, this seemingly harmless and innocent girl is tortured for voicing her opinion.
What this hints at is the author’s criticism of the female social standing and expectations in societies similar to this one. Twice in the story, we experience the point of view of her parents, both of which give clues to what is (not) expected of girls. Her mother, for example, explained: “Politics is a dirty game which only ineffectual men play.” It seems that Leila and her mother are both representatives of women in their societies – they suffer quietly, keeping most of their thoughts and fears unvoiced and locked in their own minds, and the moment their opinion is heard, they get treated worse than animals.
The most shocking and emotionally devastating part of the story was the description of Leila’s mental and physical state, following the inhumane torture she suffered. From the beginning, it is obvious the consequences were dehumanizing: “By the third day, she still had not returned to normal but remained like a small animal incapable of uttering the simple words: My God! She said to herself: Do animals, like humans, know the existence of something called God?” These sentences, in particular, stuck in my mind throughout the rest of the story. It made me think about the kind of experiences someone has to endure in order to be left in such a broken state. The violence and monstrous behavior of certain people can have a truly horrendous effect on the victims; it destroys their faith and hope, two of the things that make us human.
A large part of the dehumanizing process was the damage done to Leila’s senses and speaking abilities. When she is brought into the courtroom, the light hurt her eyes and blinded her, hinting that she spent several days in complete darkness. Furthermore, she could hardly distinguish the noise around her, and could not even speak up to ask for a glass of water. In fact, her lips were described as being “stuck together” and her eyes “stuck on the picture” of the king. By numbing her sight and hearing, they made her a lot more vulnerable to her surroundings. It seemed to me like this was deliberately done in order to make it easier to completely break her mentally, while the large painting of the king could have been used as a warning to her and others, that he hears and sees everything and that no one is safe – not even a young girl who has not even reached her twenties.
El Saadawi did an amazing job at evoking emotions from the readers by clear descriptions of Leila’s state. It was interesting how she chose not to reflect on the victim’s feeling and emotions often (since Leila appeared very desensitized through majority of the story), but rather focused on the experiences she went through and her physical state. El Saadawi really brought the character’s senses to life, thus making us imagine the pain and suffering Leila experienced. Overall, “In Camera” proved to be a rather emotionally straining story, with a feeling of incompleteness about it at the end; but this is exactly why it has the ability to accomplish the author’s ultimate aim – to get her readers to take action against oppressive powers, rather than just sit back and sympathize with the characters.
3 responses so far
I completely agreed with everything you said. El Saadawi does a ingenious job in not only provoking emotions, but she also takes us along with Leila during every traumatizing moment. El Saadawi does have a medical degree in Psychiatry which can speak to the fact that she is able to manipulate the reader into fully immersing themselves into Leila’s deteriorating mental state.
What I found really inhumane is when Leila bought up animals. In the quote you mentioned where Leila says “My God! She said to herself: Do animals, like humans, know the existence of something called God?”, it is really telling that she brings up God and animals in the same sentence. In the middle east animals are usually not treated as “humanely” as in the west. And God, especially in this society, plays a huge role in every part of life. So when Leila questions the existence of a deity one can truly see the state she was in.
Also what I found intriguing was that Leila was who was a young girl was found to be such a huge threat to this patriarchal society. But for someone who is seen as less than person, someone who voiceless than its seems sort paradoxical for the patriarchs to show her so much attention. This can speak to the fact that El Sadaawi developed a story that is was really trying show the “backwardness” of an oppressed women. Leila is a young girl with no means of force and all she did was state an opinion, but the patriarchs were so insecure that not only did not punish her but they completely stripped her of her humanity!
I think that one of the most intriguing and memorable things about this text is that Leila, though completely dehumanized, doesn’t give in to her pain. Her body is broken, her senses are blurred, but her mind is still so resolute. At one point, she wonder what would happen if her finger was cut off, so as to prevent her from drawing “that corruption” that she spoke out against. Saadawi writes, “But she hated the questions of the impotent and said to herself: I will split the finger and press the pen into it, just as Isis split the leg of Osiris” (1108). The image evoked here is slightly disturbing, but it nevertheless shows Leila’s unyielding strength. If the story was any different, more specifically, if the character became weak both inside and out and finally admitted defeat, we would certainly not have the same kind of reaction to her. Like Vanja said, we as readers feel more than just pity for her. I personally feel great respect towards this character. Moreover, we see in the story that Leila doesn’t spend much time lamenting her pain, even though it is always on her mind. Rather, she worries about her mother, who she is utterly devoted to. Because the state of her body and mind is so different, I think that she is the perfect representative of Dualism, a theory that claims that the mind and body are two separate entities. Perhaps one of Saadawi’s goals in writing this story was to raise the question: If a character such as this is so bold and fearless, then why should she be deemed an inferior?
This story clearly discusses the strong, rigid gender roles that exist in society. It’s saddening to read how while women, like Leila, are treated and tortured like animals, men have titles and authority over their voice. I found it especially upsetting when Leila’s dad ultimately abandons her. Although initially proud of her for speaking truth (and even thinking of her as a heroine!), he quickly becomes extremely embarrassed and ashamed after hearing conversations among the spectators that Leila’s father’s honor has been “violated”. He bitterly thinks back to the times he has told Leila how politics “is not for women and girls” and if she had only been a man, he”would not be suffering now the way he was” (1113). It’s tragic how he is thinking about himself, his own honor and reputation, as a greater calamity than the bigger suffering Leila has been enduring for a longer period of time.