Nothing in life is guaranteed,
I would never expect it to be.
Present knowledge
Is future foolishness.
A professed love
Soon turns to bitterness.
Beautiful dreams –
Dreamt in a sleep state of mind
Become the nightmares of reality,
Rude, consuming and blind.
Two opposing forces –
Today and tomorrow,
One full of hope
The other drowned in sorrow.
The lack of any single positive male character in “In Camera” gave me pause. I am sure that El Saadawi intentionally crafted the story in order to emphasis the differences in the gender discrimination in that part of the world. I am quite alright with that. However, the character of the father truly disgusted me to no end.
I am not a feminist and I speak as a man who has embraced the societal gender codes and norms. It is my heart’s conviction that a man who has a family should be a husband, father, comforter, provider, protector, liberator, teacher, instructor, judge, jury, and voice of reason.
This piece of human waste characterized in the story does not represent any of what I hold to be the basic tenets of being a man. He is the exact opposite.
As the story is revealed and we see the brutalization and oppression of Leila, the father is no where to be found. It is the mother who is Leila’s comforter and protector after she is savagely attacked. It is the mother who stands guard and holds and consoles Leila and reassures her. And after Leila was imprisoned it was her mother who visited her and brought her some peace. And while in the courtroom Leila looked for her mother and desired the smell of her milk.
The father was not there when Leila was raped and did not protect her from the men who brutalized her. When she was in prison he did not come to see and comfort her and offer her a sense of hope and belonging. Neither did he comfort his wife and reassure her that everything would be alright.
I almost could not believe it when in the courtroom and the audience started applauding for Leila that the father wanted to join in her heroism. Her heroism! Not only was he not a hero he was not even brave enough to stand up and acknowledge to the courtroom and world who he is. He is less than a coward.
The worst part is that at the end of the day he is more concerned that HIS reputation had been tarnished by the brutal rape of his daughter. He was more concerned about what people said about him than the welfare and well being of his family. Un – frigging – believable!
He is not a father. He is not a husband. He is not a man. I will not dignify him by allowing him to have a name.