Season of Migration to the North

The narrator wrestles with his feelings, noting that he has begun “from where Mustafa Sa’eed had left off” (111). He felts untethered to his village and confused by his own violent actions. He realizes that while Mustafa at least made a choice to act violently, he himself failed to act and save Hosna, thus leading him into his situation almost against his will. As he contemplates this, he finally goes to look in Mustafa’s locked room. He finds a room covered floor-to-ceiling with book, none in Arabic. The narrator is disgusted with this discovery. He considers Mustafa “a fool” (112) for failing to hide or let go of his past. He also finds pictures of Mustafa’s mistresses and wife. As he looks at these pictures and paintings, he remembers Mustafa’s confession, quoting parts that have not yet appeared in the book. First included is the information that Isabelle Seymour’s husband testified on Mustafa’s behalf, arguing that she killed herself because of her terminal cancer rather than because of her lover. Next, the narrator remembers Mustafa’s description of Ann Hammond: She came up to him at one of his lectures and immediately began to cast herself in the role of his “Sausan,” his slave. Although they were both lying and playing a role, their connection felt real. 

Next, the narrator quotes Mrs. Robinson’s reply to his letter. She called Mustafa, or “Moozie,” “unstable” and “incapable of either accepting or giving happiness” (123). She reveals that she is writing a book about him. As he considers her words, he finds scraps of paper, including Mustafa’s attempts at beginning his autobiography, as well as poetry that he considers very poor. He suddenly realizes that Mustafa left these scraps on purpose: The man “wants to be discovered” (127), and, in fact, appointed the narrator as his sons’ guardian so that he would discover this room. 

The narrator jumps to his feet and finds a painting of Jean Morris. Finally, he quotes the end of Mustafa’s confession. He pursued Jean Morris for three years, convinced that she liked him despite her rejections and rebuffs. The first time she came to his home, she tore up several of his prized possessions before kneeing him in the testicles. When they wed, it became a battle of the wills. In their explosive fights, he often told her that he hated her and that he would kill her. She replied, “‘I too, my sweet, hate you. I shall hate you until death’” (132). At other times, she laughed at his threats. Finally, one night, he stabbed her through the chest during love making, and she implored him to kill himself too. Of course, he did not.