The Egyptian Short Story Of The Other Face By Salma Shalash

781 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essays in Egyptian literature

The other face was written by Salma Shalash. She is an Egyptian author of short stories in 1970s and 1980s. She wrote a big collection of Arabic short stories. She wrote this story as she realized that almost all of us do not show the people we love who we truly are. We try to be our best to hide the personalities we think they will not like. Every person is made up of many individual structures or many personalities or what we should call subpersonalities. The first key to success in your relationships and all areas of your life, is for you to understand your personality and accept all of it. By doing that, you are conscious of all parts of your being and can therefore experience who you truly are.

The story is about two people who are engaged, the girl and her fiancé Fuad. They showed each other the best of them so they liked each other but after marriage and living together they will find who they truly are. The girl woke up and thought of her fiancé. She thought she might be unfair to him as she showed him her best part and best personality. They might get divorced after the union as they may not accept each other. She went to her fiancé’s house after she got out of bed directly, he opened the door and did not know her at first. Actually showing who they truly are before the marriage made him think again and he broke off their engagement telling her family that he is going to travel overseas and does not know when he will come back.

She was right about what she did. They deserve to know what they will face after the union and how they will see each other to avoid any complications after the marriage. She thought he will accept her as she is, but he was shocked when he saw her. He looked only for the appearance not for the c...

... middle of paper ...

...nd a woman should have personalities that match with each other, most probably they will be the opposite of each other. For example, a business man who is firm with his employees will be attracted to a woman who is kind and gentle with other people.

In conclusion, what the girl did was strange. It did not come from her primary personality. It was one of her subpersonalities which made her think that Fuad will accept her however she looks. Fuad did not deserve her as he did not accept her real personality. When you are getting married to someone, you should be honest about your personality and not deceive each other. One should make sure to find someone who praises him not to complete them. Oprah Winfrey said “You should never look for someone to complete you. A relationship consists of two whole individuals. Look for someone complimentary … not supplementary”.

Show More
Related

  • The Scarlet Letter - Roger Chi

    670 Words  | 2 Pages

    knew that she didn't love him, but still proceeded to commit the rest of his life to her. Consequently, a story of forbidden passion, hatred, and jealousy unfolds.

    Read More

  • Urban Legend of Cry Baby Bridge

    1189 Words  | 3 Pages

    About thirty years ago there was a young girl in love with her boyfriend. One day, he convinced her to take their relationship to the next level, telling her how deeply he cared. A couple weeks later, she found out that she had become pregnant, and decided it was best to hide it from him. They kept in close contact over the next few months, and he told her that they would be together forever. When her father realized that she was having a baby without marriage, he made her leave the house until she came back with a husband. When the baby girl was born, she decided to tell the boyfriend about the child, by bringing her to his house. He lived on a small farm right outside town and you had to pass over a small river on a bridge to get back to his house. As she opened the door, she walked in on him with another girl. Filled with anger, (pause) she gets in her car and speeds off. Now she could not return home unmarried and had lost her only love because of this one child. As she looked over at the baby, she is only reminded of her boyfriend and the image of him with the other girl. (tone increases) Finally, she reached the bridge, then slammed on the breaks. She got out and in a moment of rage threw the baby over the bridge to rid her of the baby girl’s troubles. Later that night, the police were tipped off about a murder at the bridge and came to find the girl hanging from the bridge.

    Read More

  • Hatchet

    713 Words  | 2 Pages

    The story begins when Brian, a thirteen-year-old boy, is traveling on an airplane. Brian is from the city, and is traveling to Canada to visit his Father. The setting is in the Canadian wilderness and is most important because Brian’s adventure would have been impossible in a city. Brian was very upset about his parents separation, but was excited to be visiting his father. However “The Secret,” as Brian refers to it, is always in the back of his mind. Brian has seen his mother with another man. He wants desperately to tell his father, but knows his father would be crushed. I think that this situation is something that could happen in real life. Brian is totally distraught. If I were in his place, I would be also. But instead of worrying about telling my father, I think I would be worrying about confronting my mother with the situation. I would feel I needed to stop the affair before my father did find out.

    Read More

  • Celie's Life and Hard Times.

    1010 Words  | 3 Pages

    marriage. She was to do just as he said, without so much as uttering a

    Read More

  • Autobiography Of A Face By Lucy Grealy

    705 Words  | 2 Pages

    At the age of 9, Lucy Grealy was diagnosed with terminal cancer. In her book, The Autobiography of a Face, Grealy explains the hardships she faces throughout her journey and how she dealt with them. I would highly recommend this book to my classmates because it shows the atrocity of cancer, the importance of having a support system, and puts in perspective how the little things throughout society can mean so much when you're going through such trials and tribulations.

    Read More

  • Eudora Welty's Why I Live at the P.O.

    1021 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... she did the right thing. Personal experience has shown me that it is better to be happy and alone and content with one choice, then to continue to live with extreme prejudice, ignorance and naivety. In the end, it does not matter how hard you try, or how perfect you think you are, or beautiful, or smart, or rich if you are not happy with yourself and your life nothing will change until you find the courage to initiate change.

    Read More

  • Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication Of The Rights Of Women

    948 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...y.” (Wollstonecraft, 1792, p.13) Why not strengthen other characteristics and not rely so much on appearance to gain power, luring man through the feminine attraction. Simone De Beauvoir states that, “The female, to a greater extent than the male, is the prey of the species.” (Rosaldo 1949, p.74)

    Read More

  • Symbolism & Irony in the “The Story of an Hour”

    604 Words  | 2 Pages

    “She carried herself unwittingly like a Goddess of Victory”. What the author states in their article is that she was still with the man that she was with for many years and they called her a Goddess, but there are some who say different. They she got what she deserve because she was still with him even though she did not love him at sometimes. I am going to have to agree with those people and yes I know women couldn’t get a divorce but she could had at least told her husband.

    Read More

  • Essay On Rational Community

    750 Words  | 2 Pages

    This face of the other, the stranger serves as an “indicative surface” to us. Lingis (1994) states “The face of another is a surface upon which one senses directions and directives that order me; w...

    Read More

  • Are Gender Stereotypes Perpetuated in Children's Magazines?

    1542 Words  | 4 Pages

    ‘Femininity is associated with traits such as emotionality, prudence, co-operation, a communal sense, and compliance. Masculinity tends to be associated with such traits as rationality, efficiency, competition, individualism and ruthlessness.’ [1]

    Read More

  • Essay On Egyptian Culture

    1652 Words  | 4 Pages

    The overall point of this investigation is to determine the influence of feminine stature in the Egyptian culture. I explored in deeper into this topic because the Egyptian culture had a lot of facets in their own culture that had disappeared for some time, only to be assimilated into modern day culture. Their culture was before their time. The period of the Egyptians was from 3500 - 525 B.C., where in 525 B.C. the Persians conquered the Egyptians (more on that later). The method that I am using that determine the feminine importance is through various articles that are displaying the role of the women in the daily society, articles about the role of goddesses in the Egyptian people’s lives, and the crusade that the Egyptian people lost

    Read More

  • Egyptian Culture Essay

    1245 Words  | 3 Pages

    Going back a few thousand years in history, the exotic and flourishing empire of the New Kingdom in Ancient Egypt existed. Ancient Egypt, one of the world’s oldest and technologically advanced empires dominated Northern Africa. The New Kingdom, which was from 1550-1069 B.C, “was an explosion of creativity, wealth and power in Egypt that would make it the envy of the world” (PBS). During this time period, Ancient Egypt exhibited a golden age, where Egypt experienced political stability, expansion of territory and the promotion of Egyptian culture. Leading up the New Kingdom, Ancient Egypt experienced the cultures and practices of other races, such as the different ethnic groups during the transition of the Archaic period to the Old Kingdom in terms of different factions of ethnicity between Upper and Lower Egypt. In addition, the Hyksos, who were of Asian descent, during the Second Intermediate period took over parts of Egypt and brought an Asian flare to the Egyptian Culture. The concept of race, however, during

    Read More

  • Essay About Egyptian Culture

    765 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Egyptian culture is vastly different from American culture. While there are similarities between business practices in both the United States and Egypt, understanding the key differences in how to conduct oneself when negotiating business can be the difference between closing a sale and leaving empty-handed. With this report, the sales and marketing teams of Chevrolet will better understand how to negotiate with Egyptian executives in order get more automobiles into Egyptian dealerships. The report focuses on: (a) how meetings are conducted in Egypt; (b) meeting times; (c) proper Egyptian greetings; (d) group behavior in a meeting; (e) common business hierarchy; (f) proper business attire; and (g) important business communication tips.

    Read More

  • A Temporary Matter by Jhumpa Lahiri

    641 Words  | 2 Pages

    A Temporary Matter by Jhumpa Lahiri is a short story explaining how these short relationships can fall apart so quick. The couple, Shukumar and Shoba have a very complicated relationship. Shukumar works at home on his dissertation while Shoba works gets up every morning and goes to work. Previously the couple lost a child right after it was born, which hurt the couple. After this event this couple hardly talked, became experts on avoiding each other, and grew distant. They then have a problem that ends up making them have to talk to each other more then they did. They are reminded about how they used to be and start to grow closer, revealing things about themselves. But then it all ends with Shoba telling her husband that she found an apartment. This stops the couple from getting closer. Shukumar then reveals his secret about the baby and removes a mystery that Shoba wanted to keep a mystery. This story ends with the couple crying in the dark but the reader can infer that the couple breaks up after this story.

    Read More

  • Comapring The Outsider and The Trial comparison compare contrast essays

    1413 Words  | 3 Pages

                       but he saw the face of Marie, the girl who proposed the marriage to him. But

    Read More

More about The Egyptian Short Story Of The Other Face By Salma Shalash

Open Document