A Distant Episode
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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A Distant Episode is a famous and acclaimed short story by Paul Bowles. It was first published in the Partisan Review (January-February, 1947) and republished in New Directions in Prose and Poetry, #10, 1948.
The story is a fictional account of a Professor of linguistics (likely an ethnic and national French citizen) traveling through what is likely Morocco in the late 1940s. The nation is never, however, specifically mentioned and the cities that are referred to appear to be entirely fictional. Only references to local languages and tribes (especially the Reguibat and Ouled Nail) suggest that the events take place in Morocco, Algeria, or possibly Western Sahara.
Extremely short, the piece is a study of many things, most notably the cultural divisions between Europe and the North African Islamic world, the role of language (emphasized viscerally) in defining identity and narration, and the various and shifting natures of cultural supremacy.
Among twentieth century short stories, it has a strong reputation and is a favorite of authors such as Tobias Wolff and Jay McInerney. Francine Prose mentioned Bowles's work and A Distant Episode specifically as some of the strongest short fiction work of the twentieth century.
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Synopsis
The Professor is visiting the town of Ain Tadouirt (a fictitious city) ostensibly to reacquaint with an old acquaintance and to do some base academic work studying the regional dialects of "the warm country". (The Professor appears to be specialized in Arabic language.) When his friend cannot be found (and is later revealed to have died), the Professor clumsily attempts to find his way around the town. He tries to engage with the qaouaji of the old cafe, but repeatedly and inadvertently insults him with his cultural aloofness. The Professor finally requests to buy some novelty camel-udder boxes. This offends the qaouaji but the Professor reasserts his position offering him money. The qaouaji leads the Professor through the desert night and ultimately into the hands of the Reguibat.
At this point, the story takes a sharp narrative turn. The Professor is beaten badly and has his tongue cut out. He is turned into a toy of amusement for the Reguibat who cover him in metal and make him dance and mumble incoherently. The narration loses all of the Professor's perspective and gains all of the Reguibat people's. The Professor is deprived of human contact, language, or standard treatment for a year.
In the final act, the Reguibat sell the Professor to another tribe, the Ouled Nail, who value the Professor as a way of showing their superiority to the arrogant and stupid French. The Professor is locked in the courtyard of a prominent Ouled Nail, but escapes into the house. In the house, he sees a calendar and for the first time recalls language and speech. However, bereft of a tongue, he is still incoherent and seemingly crazy. He breaks free of the house and runs down the street in front of a group of French soldiers who identify him not as French, but merely insane. He disappears ranting and screaming into the desert.
Themes
Cultural imperialism
One of the most obvious points of this piece is the dangers of cultural imperialism. The Professor from the outset treats the people of the town as inferiors. Although he makes perfunctory attempts to engage with them, he usually falls back to relying on the power of his money or intellect. He also has an unreasonably high sense of the respect he holds from the people. In the second half of the story, this is entirely upended as the Reguibat and Ouled Nail seem aware that the French feel this way. His incredibly horrible punishment seems to be indicative of this knowledge.
Bowles cast the lead as a French intellectual who does speak Arabic rather than employing a completely ignorant protagonist. It may be indicative that multiculturalism may not be very useful without larger forces avoiding conflict. Or it may be that certain cultural differences are intractable.
The power of language
The story is much more direct on this topic. The Professor dominates the narration for the first half when he is in a culture dominated by French powers and capable of controlling his speech (literally and metaphorically). In the second half, he is in the hands of the Reguibat and loses all such control when his tongue is removed. From this point, the story proceeds entirely with the Professor as a background character. Only when the Professor is purchased by the Ouled Nail does his perception of language resume. The emotional climax of the story is when he sees written text for the first time in months and can hear words in his head again.
