Fifteen Dogs

In Chapter Four, the narrative returns to Majnoun and the deepening of his relationship with Nira, following him through the end of his life. Despite Zeus’s edict, Hermes and Apollo continue to meddle in the dogs’ affairs.

Five years after Majnoun first entered Nira’s life, she thinks of him as her closest friend and confident, though they have occasional conflicts, most significantly their attitudes toward status. Majnoun’s view of Miguel as their pack leader annoys Nira, who views herself in an equal relationship with her husband. Majnoun’s assessment derives from simultaneously fearing Miguel and looking to him for protection, though he would die only for Nira. 

When Nira sneeringly asks who is in the second position after Miguel, Majnoun feels that she is challenging his position. Unwilling to defend it with violence, as he would with dogs, he determines to exile himself. Sensing that Majnoun cannot die happy without Nira, Hermes defies his father’s edict and intervenes. He appears to Majnoun in a dream, telling him that he has “misinterpreted Nira’s words” because “[h]umans do not think as you do” (123). Hermes instructs Majnoun to return to Nira, promises that he and Nira will never misunderstand each other again, and bestows on Majnoun the ability to perceive nuance in human language.

Returning to Nira, Majnoun immediately senses the sincerity of her apology. His new ability inspires him to compose poetry modeled after Prince’s, but he continues to prefer “the language of dogs” because he finds it “more expressive, more vivid, easier to understand and more beautiful than any human speech” (126). On her part, Nira finds that Majnoun’s spoken English takes more effort to understand than their previous language of gestures but simultaneously deepens her understanding of him. Over time, she stops thinking of him as a dog.

Over the next two years, Nira shares her favorite movies and books with Majnoun. The absence of sense perception makes movies disappointing, but he finds human emphasis on imagination interesting. It invites meaning-making while simultaneously evading it. In his old life as an unintelligent dog, Majnoun’s body did his thinking for him through vision, scent, and listening. 

Majnoun and Nira grow so inextricably connected that Atropos, the Fate who determines the length of mortal lives, cannot distinguish their life threads. She complains to Zeus that a god must have intervened since she can no longer tell which life she is meant to end or when. Zeus shrugs her off, instructing her, “Do your duty” and “cut the thread” (133). Annoyed, she cuts two of the three threads and unnaturally extends the life of the third. 

Listening to Miguel and Nira argue about dishes, housework, and their careers, Majnoun suggests that she and Miguel take a trip without him. When they do not return on the appointed day, Majnoun grows bewildered. After a few days, Miguel’s brother and weeping mother arrive, pack up the house, and put it up for sale. Majnoun maintains a vigil over the house for years, waiting for Nira to return. Dogs who previously threatened him now respect and understand him, as they too have experienced waiting. As he waits, Majnoun contemplates what it means to be human and what it means to be a dog. He does not want his waiting to be merely a matter of instinct since this would be “unworthy of Nira,” the “being who completed him” (142).

Five years pass, and Zeus, “[m]oved by the dog’s nobility of spirit” (142), demands that Atropos end Majnoun’s prolonged suffering and allow him to die. Though still annoyed with Zeus for ignoring her earlier advice, Majnoun’s vigil moves Atropos too. She tells Zeus that she will “allow his life to end” (143) if he ends his wait.

Hermes appears to Majnoun in his image, as a black poodle. He tells Majnoun that if he gives up his vigil, Hermes can take him to Nira. Majnoun realizes that he is talking to an immortal and considers asking his existential questions. Majnoun cares only to know what happened to Nira, though he simultaneously fears the answer. He and Hermes take a walk, and Majnoun asks what love means. Hermes explains that what Majnoun actually wants to know is “what Nira meant when she used the word” (147), which is a harder question because everyone’s love journey is unique. Hermes takes Majnoun on a sense journey through Nira’s experiences of love, leaving the dog with the unbearable feeling of deep connection to Nira, yet Majnoun also senses their present divide. Overcome with grief, he gives up his vigil, “[a]nd his soul travelled through the evening with Hermes as his guide” (148).