Miserliness between Reality and Symbolism: A Study of Al-Jahiz's al-Bukhala and Moliere's The Miser

Abstract

Abstract:

This study explores the topic of miserliness, defines it terminologically, and sheds light on its manifestation in literature and philosophy. It aims to show the difference between the two literatures, the literature of the Arabs and the Western literature, in terms of depicting the phenomena of stinginess. Al-Jahiz and Moliere are two writers of two different cultures who reviewed the concept of miserliness differently. In their stories, Al-Jahiz’s The Book of al-Bukhala and Moliere’s The Miser, they address the impact of stinginess on human life and society and highlight its negative consequences on the soul and social relationships. They both portray stinginess as a reprehensible trait that makes its owner lose his humanity for the sake of a few coins but in a different way and styles. The study pined important results about the ways the miser is viewed in the literature of Arabs and Western literature. The study is qualitative, and it depends on textual analysis.