In The Country of Men (Notes)

LEPCIS

The students are very familiar with the history of Lepcis. The history of Lepcis represents the knowledge of the history of the past. Ustath Rashid being a highly respected and educated historian lecturer poses to be a great threat to the Revolution as he is aware of how Libya was before the revolution existed. Those who support Qaddafi and the Revolution would fear those who had the knowledge of how much better Libya were before the revolution. Thus, they would oppose those who have the knowledge and awareness that could lead to a rebellion.

“Suleiman loves the stories and admires Scheherazade as a heroine but Najwa regards her as a coward”

The story of Scheherazade is reflected in the events as it is a representation of Najwa’s own life. Scheherazade’s story links to the role of women in patriarchal society. Scheherazade had to live under the oppression and control of King Shahryar and Najwa had also been forced to be married by the “High Council”, her brothers and father. Both women are oppressed by the males in their society which is dominant over females. Both Scheherazade and Najwa tell stories to help make their life easier to cope. For Scheherazade, those stories saved her own life and another 1000 females; For Najwa, it helped her release the emotional pain she felt.

They were both helpless. Scheherazade had to beg the king to spare her life “Not because she had as much to live as he, but because if he were to kill her his sons would live “motherless””. Najwa’s powerlessness is indicted by Suleiman’s observation that “She seemed captive, captive in her own home, continually failing to prepare herself for anything else.”

However, unlike Scheherazade who was able to “sing under the sword”, Najwa could only drink under the sword. This links to the themes of courage and cowardice when living under oppression. Scheherazade sacrificed herself willingly to save others while Najwa’s sacrifice was one that was forced upon her and thus resulted in bitterness. This is shown with Najwa’s heated words “What do you want from me? I have given up everything for you. You’re not even satisfied”

The reason “Nothing angered her (Najwa) more than the story of Scheherazade” was due to the fact that Najwa could see her own vulnerability through the lens of Scheherazade and she did not want to admit it, telling her son “You should find another model” because “Scheherazade was a coward who accepted slavery over death”

On the other hand, Suleiman “had always thought Scheherazade a brave woman who had gained her freedom through inventing tales and often in moments of great fear, recalled her example”, Suleiman was inspired of how Scheherazade was “unable to look up into the sky or rest in the silence and solitude of her own garden” yet continued to live “under Shahryar’s sword”.

Suleiman claims that “She, I am certain now, was one of the bravest people that had ever lived. It’s one thing not to fear death, another to sing under its sword”. She represented the qualities that he desired his mother to have. He wanted his mother to be brave and courageously face the conflicts present in her life without the need of alcohol to drain her sorrows. Scheherazade was educated whereas his mother involuntarily dropped out from school. Most importantly, Scheherazade was a risk-taker in response to her conflict whereas his mother would simply just give up without trying. This can be seen when she “strengthen her doubts about love and confirm her instinct to go without it, accepting- always accepting – a life forced upon her”.  While Suleiman admired Scheherazade for her confidence in her plan to stop women from being oppressed, Suleiman “hated how her (Najwa) confidence plummeted with time”