Love in the Kingdom of Oil by Nawal El Saadawi Read Free Book Online Page B

She breathed in time with the movement of her arms, and the beating of her heart under her ribs, and the ticking of the watch on her wrist. The process of washing seemed endless, mindless perhaps, an attempt to escape from some other activity. After washing, the face became white in colour, like the face of His Majesty, plump, barrel-chested, with two prominent breasts like the face of the goddess Ekhnaton.
    She continued to gaze at the statue for a long time. A wind arose from the south and filled her eyes with particles of oil. The pain increased until it burned and she closed her eyelids. From behind she heard the voice and the man’s hand almost touched her.
    She half-opened her eyes. He was not the man. She saw a woman standing, carrying on her head the planet Earth or the disk of the sun. She had two long horns that curled forwards. The light was dim, or perhaps the swelling of her eyes had weakened her sight. She could not see the face of the woman. She could not be certain of what she carried on her head.
    Her mind was no longer able to make sense of things. Everything blended together inside her head with the intense heat. Sweat fell in drops from her nose. Her arm was not strong enough for her to raise it and wipe the sweat. She left it to drip copiously with her tears. Perhaps the disk of the sun was the enemy. Her mind worked once more as she sprawled on the ground, but the voice of the woman interrupted her thoughts, ‘Get up, sister, and have a bath. Many happy returns.’
    She turned over in her place and considered her. Her
jallaba
was long and black. She had the features of her aunt. Her neck twisted under the load. Next to her was the washing basin. She took a piece of rock and went to rub her cracked feet and to remove the layer of black. She polished her feet energetically as if they were the feet of the Statue of Victory. The rubbing brought on a pleasant stupor in her head. She did not know what was the relationship between feet and head.
    If it wasn’t for the beating of the sun, and some embarrassment, she could have taken more enjoyment in the process of washing. She was not related to her; she was not her aunt. She took off all her clothes. Nakedness was frightening. She had never previously had occasion to strip naked in front of a woman or a man, especially her husband. In his sight, she was as pure as the Virgin Mary. For his part, her boss at work used to call her the Lady of Purity. Until, that is, he suddenly began to search her.
    ‘Where is the pamphlet?’
    ‘What?’
    ‘The pamphlet that you’ve concealed.’
    ‘I haven’t concealed anything.’
    ‘I saw it on you, in your handwriting, against His Majesty.’
    ‘I haven’t written anything.’
    ‘Raise your arms!’
    She raised her arms high. She felt his fingers searching between her breasts. They dropped lower to the forbidden regions.
    ‘This is violation of the sanctity of the body.’
    When she regained consciousness, she was screaming. Where were the rights of women? She found herself lying in bed. Around her were women carrying jars. Over their eyes was a cloud. A dark layer of oil covered the pupil and there was an order from His Majesty: ‘Any woman detained with paper and pen in her possession shall be prosecuted.’
    Whenever she looked into their eyes, the intensity of the pain increased. They disappeared one after the other. One of them went first and was followed by the others. She heard their voices through the wall. They were gasping with disjointed voices. The joints of their necks cracked under the jars. The beat of their feet on the ground was muffled. The wind carried it under the bridge where the houses of the village were. The barking of the dogs came from afar. The question turned over in her mind, ‘Should she flee by herself or should she reveal her plan to them?’
    * * *
    The plan had not been revealed yet. And her boss at work had written a secret report. The reports about her were only written in