Enayat El Zayat : The Delicate and Typical Life {Tribute series}

The Traces of Enayat El Zayat Book

Intro Disclaimer: No literary details will be tackled for interpretation and examination like all the former articles in this series. I will address my view on the human experience this writer had to encounter. The writer who later on would be recognized for her masterpiece writing.

Short life story recap

an introverted clever girl in German school with hopes to complete her studies and attend university to excel her writing skills. Proficient in German with Arabic as foreign language, she was interested in Arabic literature. Then as always life just happened. Crashed hopes to get into university and complete her high school degree was at the door. In the last year of her school education, she had a family arranged marriage with a seemingly one in a lifetime good profile husband.

The husband was later found an abusive one with, according to some book reviews, a record of beating and domestic violence along with issues in attitude with the wife. Divorce ensued with custody for her son. The custody was then transferred to the father for her psychic therapy history and the son didn’t identify her later as her mother. Simultaneously, there was the rejection to publish her first and only novel: love and silence. Her suicide coincided with the birthday party of her childhood best friend and actress Nadia Lotfy who happened to discover her absence and find her died in her apartment as well.

Enayat el zayat, the writer often repeated and used her writing to confer her sense of loneliness. I think this is something at sometimes or in some phase, a lot of humans experience. It could be actually one of the universal feelings we all get to test and validate.

Apparently, she was a delicate and sensitive personality attentive to emotions and feelings. This could be a strength in all the great writers. A strength to cultivate and nurture not repress and be ashamed from to desperately prove the indifference status to our surroundings regardless what. It could be a way to further understand the intricate sensations, emotions and feelings more thoroughly.

In this case, her sensitivity, emotional personality and delicacy are not the main issue. From my reading of her story, I could interpret that the main life character in her story is her high profile not to be missed out husband. Her parents agreed to his proposal regardless of her wishes to continue her studies. The one with abusive behavior in the marriage and during custody.

The one even deprived her from her son for her psychic history; he could be the main culprit in the deterioration of her psychic health. She went into this marriage with her education crushed hopes but to have a good life Corresponding to the good profile with parental guarantee. Later, her life continued to be a series of loops of falls. She found out that her life specifically was nothing but disappointments from everyone, even her only son, who once according to her writing came from her, sharing her body and traits.

Even when she wanted to work on her literary career and publish her story, it was met with rejection. Perhaps, she felt that this was the only thing for her in this life.

I wanted to stress on a specific point which could be missed out or skipped unconsciously, the psychic therapy history which banned her from her son’s custody. Was she posed as a dangerous person or unable to take care of her son but her abusive unstable sociopath husband was conceived able and capable to take care of him? Psychic therapy is and of course was a social shame.

Even though that mostly “safe” personalities are the ones seeking out help while the predators are left outside for more victims to prey on. Her husband was known for his shameless looking domestic violence and the court let him take custody for her psychic therapy history. Unsurprisingly, the son later did not identify her as his mother.

This was the life introverted and delicate writer. However, life is still full of surprises and blessings often some won’t look for or notice. Perhaps, her pain at this point was unbearable to the point she just didn’t want to find out what could be next. Perhaps, she wanted to end her role in the life book which gave her a lot of misery to endure and cure.

subjective Interpretation  

I just couldn’t help but to think why didn’t you Enayat attend your best friend’s birthday?! She could have been your consolation in these hard times. She was the one who invited you. Her parents thought you had a great overnight stay. But instead, perhaps, your pain was too deep for sharing and your body just couldn’t accept the fact that you could go somewhere. You decided to suicide in silence just like your story. Why didn’t you just tell your friend what was going on?! Seriously nobody can tell anything about all the suicidal act in details.

But, there could be some decline in her psychic health particularly after the custody social shame she was subjected to that could have affected her action-taking abilities. And yes again, psychic therapy social shame could take lives and the ignorant society is the one to be convicted for the repercussions.

Even, if she discontinued her therapy for the rooted psychic therapy shame and stigma in our healthy society, this is an indicator why there should be a punishment and social campaigns to resist the social detrimental effects of those predators. In a sick society that appreciates looking healthy, those even unfortunately educated ignorants should be either educated or punished. I, still can't understand why there is a stigma around therapy and not the already very much present sick social actors in the society causing infection.

After the suicide act, her seemingly best friend actress Nadia Lotfy wanted to publish her story which she did successfully. The story was presented by a famous Egyptian writer, Mostafa Mahmoud and the writer Ms. El Zayat gained literary recognition for her writing style from well-known writers like Anis Mansour. Although the story was not a big hit in terms of sales due to the country situation in 1967, Ms. El Zayat was very much acclaimed as a writer with exquisite literary style. The story even turned into a film starring Nour el Sherif and Nelly but was not a blockbuster one.

Beyond expectations

Yet, the story of Ms. El Zayat was not over. A writer found Ms. El Zayat story in the cheap piles of books in the old bookstores quarter located in Al Azbakeya where she made a purchase. She read the story and found this great connection with the words that intrigued her to find out more on the writer Ms. El Zayat and even write an entire book on her life story or tragedy if you find this a label for it.

She made interviews with relatives and possible connections in addition to data gathering on her life experiences and why there is this one and only production from the professional writer. The female writer is Ms. Eman Mersal who culminated her detective work in the published book on Ms. Enayat El Zayat was out in 2019.

The book became a sensation among the book readers and particularly marketed by those prestigious high profile cultural figures and seemingly educated personas. The book gained public acclaim nationally and from my online research internationally. That’s why, I am as well, just like others, writing my view on her story or what I got to know about her story.

Note: I did not read the book but got to know the Enayat El Zayat story published widely online.