complains more
Abbas can almost see Hamida walking here, but knows he must forget her betrayal lest his soft heart burn out. All he has gotten out of love is suffering and humiliation.
Reaching the Jewish Quarter, Hussain wants to stop for a drink in Vita’s Bar. He is surprised that Abbas has not developed a taste for it among the British. The clientele are poor cabdrivers and laborers with some market loafers thrown in. They find an empty table in back. Abbas is uneasy with the noise and points out a short, fat fourteen- year-old drunk among adults; Hussein says it is Awkal, a newspaper boy. Wine brings pleasure to the unemployed like himself, even if they can no longer afford whiskey. The bartender brings two wines and some nuts. They clink glasses and Hussein downs his, and when Abbas is disgusted by the taste, forces him to down it. Revulsion turns to satisfaction as the alcohol reaches Abbas’s head. Hussein orders another. He is staying in his father’s house with his wife and brother-in-law and does not intend to run the café from dawn through half the night for £3 a month as his father wants. Hussain is beginning to hate the world because he cannot find a life that suits him. Abbas is surprised and delighted by how cozy he is feeling. Hussein continues, talking about the good life in Wayliya, being penniless and on the verge of hawking his wife’s jewelry. It appears she may be pregnant.
Abbas can no longer follow the conversation and melancholy replaces peacefulness. He demands a second drink, which loosens his tongue about Hamida. Hussein says Abbas should have forgotten her within a day. Awkal makes a drunken announcement that leaves patrons laughing, but enrages Hussain. Life, he says, is not a child’s game. It must be lived. Abbas mourns his loss and vows to spit in Hamida’s face and to break the man’s neck. Hussein vows to set fire to the hated alley to free himself forever. When Abbas talks wistfully about the wonderful place, Hussain declares he is a “brainless sheep”, one who is thrifty, saving money, and has no reason to complain. Abbas objects that Hussein complains more than he, and has never said a “Praise be to God” in his life. He then admits each has his own religion. Hussein laughs loudly about how bartenders get greater profits and free liquor, and figures he should adopt British nationality—Abbas is too weak-kneed to be anything but Italian. At any rate, they will ship out together. The question, leaving the tavern, is where to go now.
Hamida misses her late-afternoon walks and spends that hour in front of her mirror. She now looks like a woman born to luxury, with clothing, hair, make up, and jewelry all bringing out her natural beauty. From the beginning, Hamida has exercised free will. Knowing what is expected of her, she instinctively rebels, enjoys the battle, and finally gives into Faraj’s eloquence. She enters her new life without regret, quickly becomes the soldiers’ favorite, and her savings prove her popularity. Hamida retains no happy memories; so unlike most of the girls forced into this life, she feels no remorse. Hamida’s dreams are being fulfilled and she enjoys the power and authority she is receiving. She recalls the misery of hearing the first time that Faraj does not want to marry her, but realizes she has not been created for the duties marriage entails. Still, she is restless, dissatisfied, disillusioned, and resentful. Sex is not enough. She needs emotional power.
