Description
“I cried out in the room: ‘O Devil! O Devil! Come out to me and take from me what you will, and give me what I want.’ Of course, no one came out to me, the walls did not split open, and the cry I uttered was nothing but a resounding voice within myself, a whisper whose echo did not reach the door of the room.”
Tawfiq al-Hakim takes us on a journey through various short, philosophical reflections, ranging from plays and essays to short stories. Some are dreams, some dialogues, and some personal anecdotes. In them, al-Hakim summons some of the heroes of his stories and plays, such as Scheherazade, Mephistopheles, and Prisca, and engages in dialogues with them. The common thread that unites all these tales is that behind each one lies a desire that seizes control of the soul and leads it toward some hoped-for outcome, but this desire inevitably leads to disappointment. Behind it all stands the devil, who grants you one hope and deprives you of another, leaving you unsure whether you needed what you desired or what you were denied.
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