The Burden of Jealousy: Shame, Self-Love and Betrayal in Sāra (1938) by ʿAbbās Maḥmūd al-ʿAqqād

This article offers a reading of the theme of jealousy in the novel Sāra by ʿAbbās Maḥmūd al-ʿAqqād (1889–1964), a theme depicted with such realism that many of his contemporaries perceived it as drawn from the author own life. Al-ʿAqqād presents a phenomenology of jealousy through Hammām, male protagonist in his forties, and the vicissitudes of his romantic relationship with a foreign woman, Sāra in her twenties. Jealousy emerges as a destabilizing force that triggers the protagonist’s psychological turmoil, fuelled by cultural fears of dishonour, wounded pride, a sense of social betrayal, and the erosion of trust. This article argues that jealousy functions as an emotion shaped by the urban environment – thriving in a setting where anonymity and concealment prevail, in contrast to rural areas where social control is more pervasive. The novel of Al-ʿAqqād explores various expressions of the universal emotion of jealousy within the context of the cultural and ideological tension between two worlds in Egypt.