SYMBOLS AND MEANINGS OF JOURNEY IN NAGUIB MAHFOUZ’S NOVEL “THE JOURNEY OF IBN FATTOUMA”

Abstract

The article discusses a philosophical (intellectual) novel by Naguib Mahfouz “The Journey of Ibn Fattouma”, written in traditions of the Arabic travel novel. Ibn Battuta, a 14th-century Moroccan traveler, became a source of inspiration and a historical model for a fictional journey in Naguib Mahfouz’s novel. Ibn Battuta wrote his experience for posterity in his famous “The Journey of Ibn Battuta”. Mahfouz was inspired by Ibn Battuta’s journey to write his book but took liberties with historical material. While Ibn Battuta traveled through real-life lands, his fictional descendant travels through time. The five “lands” he visits allegorically reflect the stages of the evolution of human society from the beginning of history to the present day. Since the hero of the novel goes on a journey in search of the promised land, a special place in the narrative is occupied by the motifs of the house and the paths, which acquire symbolic content in the context of the work. The image of the path cannot exist without the motif of the house. And here the house is the beginning of all beginnings, the source of life, the starting point from which the hero’s journey begins and the search for himself, his destiny, love and family.