The Story of Zahra

Fatmé is Zahra’s mother. She grew up in a village south of Beirut, suggesting she did not come from money. She is deeply critical of Zahra, hoping for her to find a husband and participate in society as Fatmé believes a woman should. However, Fatmé also suffers the weight of social expectations for women in Lebanon at this time, as she is harshly judged, berated, and beaten by her husband for her extramarital affair. This not the only instance of Fatmé’s apparent hypocrisy. In fact, Fatmé generally adheres to and espouses the social conventions of the time even as she privately flouts them: Zahra remembers her serving only the men in their family meat, for example. Fatmé’s inconsistency may stem partly from concern with what her community thinks of her and her children; she frequently lies for Zahra’s sake even as she berates Zahra for not acting in ways that are “proper.” When Zahra thinks about what would happen should her family learn she is pregnant, she imagines Fatmé would be blamed for her behavior, suggesting that Fatmé still bears the shame of her affair and would be held responsible not only for her behavior but also her daughter’s.

Hashem is Zahra’s uncle and an émigré to Africa from Lebanon. He fled to Africa after his participation in the PPS culminated in a failed coup d’état, but he feels a longing for Lebanon that he attempts to satiate through Zahra. Once regarded as a hero, he is now living a monotonous life in Africa—one he detests. He also realizes that his commitment to the PPS bears little on the future of Lebanon and therefore struggles with a sense that his life lacks purpose.

Hashem is a passionate, committed man who in some sense represents Lebanon before the Civil War—the hope that does not ultimately come to fruition. Zahra describes him as being scandalous in his beliefs and the way he presents himself—more modern and less traditional than other members of her family—and this initially piques her curiosity. However, she is ultimately disappointed in him, and his fetishization of Zahra complicates his characterization. His advocacy of women’s sexual liberation, for example, rings very differently in light of his harassment of his niece.

Majed is Hashem’s friend and Zahra’s husband. Majed emigrated to Africa by choice to make more money rather than for political reasons. However, he struggles with class differences throughout the narrative, noticing how his position isolates him in both Lebanon and Africa. Having grown up in poverty, Majed is obsessed with accumulating money and building a respectable life. This is in part why he marries Zahra. He is also racist, feeling that he cannot marry any African woman.

Majed struggles with shame not only because of his class background but also because of his frequent masturbation. He carries many traditional views of women into his marriage—namely, that Zahra is his property. His sense of his own sexual “misdeeds” helps him accept Zahra’s past, but only for a moment. When Zahra experiences bouts of illness, Majed resents their role reversal, believing that women should be caretakers. Majed ultimately forces Zahra back to Beirut after medicating her, ostensibly because of her mental state—a misogynistic act.

Ahmad is Zahra’s brother and seven years older than her. He enjoys special treatment within her family as the only boy; Ibrahim asks after him frequently and hopes to send him to school. When Zahra returns from Africa, however, Ahmad has instead joined one of the factions fighting for Palestinians and Shia Muslims in Lebanon. Ahmad gradually changes over the course of Part 2, leading Zahra to observe that the child she once knew is gone. Ahmad develops an addiction to drugs and steals from civilians, the war changing his moral and physical landscape as he goes from a passionate, if misguided, soldier to a conflicted thief. Zahra recounts this confusion, describing Ahmad’s ever-changing loyalty. Through Ahmad, Shaykh suggests that the various factions in Lebanon fight until they no longer know what they are fighting for, leaving irreparable damage in their wake.

Malek is a friend of Zahra’s family who becomes Zahra’s rapist. He is a married man who uses his position first to hire Zahra at the Al-Régie tobacco factory and then to groom her into a sexual relationship using poetry and platitudes. Malek represents the misogyny and abuse women face not only in Lebanon but also worldwide. Zahra’s experience is not unique, and Malek represents the men who take advantage of their positions of power to force young women into submission.

Sami, the sniper with whom Zahra begins an affair, wears a hood and carries a rifle when Zahra first sees him. He is quiet for most of their affair, and they don’t often talk when they meet. Sami might live on the street where Zahra finds him, though Zahra never verifies whether this is true. Though he initially seems respectful of Zahra—concerned about her pleasure and safety—he ultimately protects himself by shooting Zahra when he learns she is pregnant.