The Tragic Outlaw Hero in Modern Egyptian Fiction: A Case Study on Naguib Mahfouz’s "The Thief and The Dogs"

Authors

Manar Ellethy, Utrecht University

Keywords

Egypt, Naguib Mahfouz, film, outlaw hero, tragedy

Document Type

Article

Abstract

This article examines the outlaw figure in modern Egyptian fiction

through the lens of the conceptual framework of social banditry and classical

tragedy. It offers a unique angle of analysis of one of Mahfouz’s most prolific

works that emerges in times of growing political anxiety following the Egyptian

Revolution of 1952. Reading the 1962 film adaptation of Naguib Mahfouz’s The

Thief and the Dogs directed by Kamal El-Sheikh as a projection of the socio-

political uncertainty of the post-revolution Nasser era, this paper considers the

outlaw figure within the condition of social alienation. Using the conceptual

borders set by Eric Hobsbawm and Graham Seal surrounding the ‘social bandit’,

Mahfouz’s protagonist, Saʿīd Mahrān, is an amalgam of both social banditry as

well as tragic heroism. It is through this complex juxtaposition that Mahfouz

and El-Sheikh achieve their political commentary by presenting a character that

personifies a general feeling of alienation in the Egyptian socio-political context.

Recommended Citation

Ellethy, Manar (2025) "The Tragic Outlaw Hero in Modern Egyptian Fiction: A Case Study on Naguib Mahfouz’s "The Thief and The Dogs"," Regards: Vol. 33: No. 33, Article 2.
DOI: 10.70898/regards.v0i33.1409
Available at: https://e-journals.usj.edu.lb/regards/vol33/iss33/2