Realism in Maxim Gorky and Naguib Mahfouz: A Comparative Analytical Study

Abstract

(Abstract)

This study examines the features of realism in the works of Maxim Gorky and Naguib Mahfouz through an analytical comparative approach.

 It aims to explore the artistic and intellectual manifestations of realism in both authors’ writings, as well as to identify the points of convergence and divergence between Russian and Arabic realism. The study employs a comparative analytical method to investigate the nature of realist vision, its social functions, and its technical devices in selected literary texts.

 It further highlights the impact of socio-political contexts on shaping each writer’s realist perspective. The findings suggest that while Gorky’s realism tends to be ideologically driven and closely aligned with socialist thought, Mahfouz’s realism is more flexible and humanistic, reflecting a broader philosophical and social depthThis study stems from a central problem: the varying manifestations of realism across different cultural environments, despite their shared theoretical framework. While realism in Russian literature, as seen in Maxim Gorky, took shape within a clear ideological context, linked to social transformations and the rise of socialist thought, realism in Arabic literature—as exemplified by Naguib Mahfouz—adopted a more diverse and flexible path, influenced by the specificities of the cultural and social environment.

Therefore, this research aims to conduct a comparative analytical study of realism in the works of Gorky and Mahfouz, revealing its intellectual and artistic features, analyzing its manifestations in selected examples from their works, and identifying points of agreement and disagreement between the two experiences. Realism in European literature arose within the context of profound intellectual and social transformations of the 19th century, as a reaction against Romanticism. Romanticism, which tended to glorify emotion and imagination, declined, giving way to a vision more grounded in lived reality, relying on meticulous observation, objective description, and an exploration of the everyday details of life.

This occurred against the backdrop of the transformations brought about by the Industrial Revolution and the accompanying social changes, creating a need for literature that reflected the suffering of the middle and lower classes and expressed social inequality.