Zaabalawi

Catharsis is a sudden release of emotion that signifies character change or spiritual renewal. In “Zaabalawi,” the narrator’s catharsis comes after experiencing a deep unconscious state during which he is visited by the titular figure (himself a symbol for spiritual awakening). However, the story reexamines the idea that catharsis prompts enduring and lasting change when Zaabalawi disappears before “curing” the narrator. In the final lines of the story, enough time has passed that the narrator briefly loses hope that he will ever meet Zaabalawi again. This uncertain ending confronts the tenuous quality of meaningful and lasting catharsis.

Although a case can be made that there are no reliable narrators in fiction, an intentionally unreliable narrator is one whose prejudices significantly shape the way they report facts and events. In “Zaabalawi,” the narrator’s naiveté shapes the story, limiting its setting, tone, and even outcome. At the story’s start, the narrator recalls asking his father about Zaabalawi, noting, “He had looked at me hesitantly as though doubting my ability to understand the answer” (1). This is a signal that we are being led by a man who struggles to see clearly. This difficulty persists even after the narrator’s dream; as the story ends, the narrator continues searching for Zaabalawi, still asking the wrong question.