Article مقال ( Décembre )

A fairytale written for grown ups: Al Chemist

Written by : Dr. Nehad Mohamed Heliel. 

PhD. English Department. Faculty of Arts. Alexandria University.

  

Does Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist really deserve to be a bestseller that has been translated into over 60 languages? It’s not even a novel according to experts. It is often categorized as a novella rather than a novel since it is quite short in terms of length; and novellas are just a ‘long short story’. I hate all these artificial names used to piece up literature into scientific labels such as novel, short story or novella. The classification for me takes away what it really is in its very unique character.

I find this ‘novel' remarkably unique and unlike anything I have read in translation. As a linguist in love with world literature, I believe that this book is indeed a fairy tale written with adults in mind. I would like to congratulate both the translator who has magically acted as the bridge between myself and the Brazilian wizard/writer. I am also aware that this novel/novella was published over 18 years ago but feel that it is badly needed in this age that has gone astray in terms of magical mysticism. It is a message of love and peace, a meeting point of faiths and beliefs without fanaticism or supremacy. As a child, I was shaped by fairytales, lived in their magical worlds and learnt that the good in human beings eventually beats evil. Fairytales are mystical, idealistic and sometimes naive since they all end in 'the happily ever after’ but Coelho’s fairytale is not naïve and its ending is not as happy as a fairytale ending.

I thought I needed to write about this particular fairytale for three reasons; first because I am a linguist and this work of art has enchanted me by the simple depth of its lexicon. Second, because I happen to be Egyptian and the idea of a romanticized Egypt is flattering and endearing; and thirdly, because I am Moslem, and most characters in Coehlo’s fairytale is an Arab Moslem - except for the hero, Santiago and another character or two.

The title itself suggests the writer’s attraction to Arab culture and the word “Alchemist” originates in the Arabic “Al-Chemia’i”. Al is the definite article in Arabic, meaning the and the translator kept the semi transliteration and in that way kept the same mystical sense of the magic that these people enjoyed in ancient times, working to transform copper into gold.

The hero is always referred to as the boy, though I believe he is a young man by the time we get to the end. In fairytales, the hero is a boy or lad or prince and so is this one. The sentences are extremely simple and you will hardly come across compound or complex sentences, just like a fairytale or a children’s story where structures are kept simple and the vocabulary is easily grasped but fascinating. Like a fairytale, the story is woven into the well-known stories of shepherds that go dreaming of a pretty girl; then Santiago starts his adventure – a journey. The Andalusian boy has a dream about finding a treasure in the pyramids of Egypt. He meets up with a gypsy, a strange king, a merchant and an Englishman on his plight. He meets his beloved Fatima and finally the mysterious alchemist who is a moor. At the end we learn that Santiago himself is an alchemist, a disciple of the mysterious teacher who accompanies him on his perilous journey. The story is timeless and we have no idea in what time or age the events happen, just like a fairytale.

Certain phrases are repeated again and again, such as the soul of the world, your personal legend, the universal language of humans. This repetition of phrases reflects the three main themes of this magical journey. The shepherd - who reminds me of Coelho himself - is searching for meaning in life which he finds at the end … in the soul of the world. We are at the soul of the world when we are close to God, for God is to be found in everything and everywhere. This idea is not just Moslem or Sufi; it is Christian, Jew and even Buddhist. The symbolism of the shepherd is that of Jesus and Moses who were both shepherds. The name of Fatima, daughter of Prophet Muhammad is another symbol, for she is to be Santiago’s only true love and so the idea of an interfaith marriage or love is a message of depth. The Moslem-Christian love reminds me of Le Mesqutita, where mosque and church are one. It is this great mosque that is now a church, embracing for what could be an ideal world. Even the name Santiago is symbolic for it is Saint Santiago who crushed the Moslem invaders and had the moors at his feet. Except that this time, this picture is reversed; it is the Moslem alchemist who has the Christian boy at his mercy. But afterwards this “savage” moor is the alchemist himself and Santiago becomes his disciple. They become close and each of them learns from the other. Another symbol is the crystal merchant who again is Moslem and both he and the boy become connected. It is Santiago that cleans the merchants’ crystal cups, making his business prosper while it is the merchant who saves the boy from hunger and desperation.

Pantheism is the deeper level when you meditate and find peace by finding God. Your personal legend is nothing but your dreams and passions. They are beyond materialism and every one of us can make their legend by following their heart, as that of the boy who got stolen, abandoned his parents’ dream for him of becoming a priest and instead became a shepherd, to travel from Andalusia and all the way across the world to Egypt.  He followed his heart and even fell for a Moslem bedouin rather than a Spanish maiden. After perseverance, meeting people that were supposedly infidel moors or Arab Moslems who had once been invaders and conquers. He makes peace with them, learns their language and learns about their weird ways of worship. By embracing an entirely new world and culture, he learns about rabbis, Coptic monks and finds his universal language, the language of faith; not restricted to a church or mosques but in the desert and amidst nature.  At the end of this fairytale, he becomes the wise alchemist and finds his treasure where least expected. He finds his treasure when he lets go of his worldly greed and finds eternal alchemy of the soul in love and faith.