The play “Al-Bakhila” (“The Miserly Woman”) is one of the most prominent theatrical works of Ahmed Shawqi, the “Prince of Poets.” It belongs to Shawqi’s series of poetic plays, through which he sought to revive and modernize Arabic theater. Shawqi wrote this play in elevated, eloquent Arabic, blending seriousness with humor, thus giving the work both an artistic and educational character.
The plot of the play centers on a woman consumed by miserliness and an obsession with hoarding wealth. Shawqi skillfully portrays her character to reveal the destructive effects of this vice on family and social relationships. For Shawqi, miserliness is not merely a personal flaw, but a disease that undermines solidarity, weakens human connection, and leads to social disintegration.
Through poetic dialogues and comedic scenes, Shawqi illustrates the psychological transformations of the miserly woman and places her in situations that expose her greed, provoke laughter from the audience, and make them reflect on the dangers of excessive love of money. The play uses artistic exaggeration to lay bare this vice and to depict its eventual consequences.
The moral value of the play is its greatest strength; it calls for generosity and warns against the enslavement of money and its dominance over human hearts. Shawqi demonstrates by the end of the play that miserliness does not lead to happiness but rather to isolation and the loss of human values.
“Al-Bakhila” is part of Shawqi’s cultural and intellectual renaissance project, in which he employed literature as a tool for social awareness and reform. This play played a significant role in the development of modern Arabic poetic theater, setting new foundations for a stage that educates, entertains, and provokes thought in its audience.
تُعَدُّ مَسْرَحِيَّةُ البَخِيلَة إِحْدَى أَبْرَزِ الأَعْمَالِ المَسْرَحِيَّةِ الَّتِي أَلَّفَهَا أَمِيرُ الشُّعَرَاءِ أَحْمَد شَوْقِي، وَتَأْتِي ضِمْنَ سِلْسِلَةِ مَسْرَحِيَّاتِهِ الشِّعْرِيَّةِ الَّتِي سَعَى مِنْ خِلَالِهَا إِلَى إِحْيَاءِ فَنِّ المَسْرَحِ العَرَبِيِّ وَتَطْوِيرِهِ. كَتَبَ شَوْقِي هَذِهِ المَسْرَحِيَّةَ بِلُغَةٍ فَصِيحَةٍ وَأُسْلُوبٍ شِعْرِيٍّ رَاقٍ جَمَعَ فِيهِ بَيْنَ الجِدِّ وَالفُكاهَةِ، مِمَّا أَضْفَى عَلَيْهَا طَابِعًا تَرْبَوِيًّا وَفَنِّيًّا فِي آنٍ وَاحِدٍ.
تَتَنَاوَلُ أَحْدَاثُ المَسْرَحِيَّةِ شَخْصِيَّةَ اِمْرَأَةٍ مَسْرُوفَةٍ فِي بُخْلِهَا وَحُبِّهَا لِجَمْعِ المَالِ، وَقَدْ جَسَّدَهَا شَوْقِي بِشَكْلٍ يُظْهِرُ سُلْبِيَّاتِ هَذِهِ الصِّفَةِ وَتَأْثِيرَهَا فِي تَفْكِيكِ العَلاقَاتِ الاجْتِمَاعِيَّةِ. فَالبُخْلُ فِي نَظَرِ شَوْقِي لَيْسَ عَادَةً فَرْدِيَّةً فَقَطْ، بَلْ دَاءٌ يُفْسِدُ قِيَمَ التَّكَافُلِ وَالتَّضَامُنِ وَيَتَسَبَّبُ فِي تَفَكُّكِ الأُسَرِ وَضَعْفِ التَّوَاصُلِ الإِنسَانِيِّ.
مِنْ خِلَالِ الحِوَارَاتِ الشِّعْرِيَّةِ وَالمَشَاهِدِ الكُومِيدِيَّةِ، يَكْشِفُ شَوْقِي عَنِ التَّحَوُّلاَتِ النَّفْسِيَّةِ الَّتِي تَمُرُّ بِهَا البَخِيلَةُ، وَكَيْفَ يَضَعُهَا بُخْلُهَا فِي مَوَاقِفَ مُحْرِجَةٍ تُثِيرُ سُخْرِيَّةَ الجُمْهُورِ وَتَجْعَلُهُ يَتَفَكَّرُ فِي آثَارِ حُبِّ المَالِ وَجَمْعِهِ بِشَكْلٍ مَفْرُوطٍ. وَتَسْتَخْدِمُ المَسْرَحِيَّةُ طَرِيقَةَ المُبَالَغَةِ الفَنِّيَّةِ لِتَعْرِيَةِ هَذِهِ الصِّفَةِ وَإِظْهَارِ مَآلَاتِهَا.
وَتَتَجَلَّى قِيمَةُ المَسْرَحِيَّةِ فِي رِسَالَتِهَا الأَخْلاَقِيَّةِ؛ فَهِيَ تَدْعُو إِلَى السَّخَاءِ وَالكَرَمِ وَتُحَذِّرُ مِنْ أَسْرِ المَالِ وَسُلْطَتِهِ عَلَى النُّفُوسِ. وَيُظْهِرُ شَوْقِي فِي نِهَايَةِ المَسْرَحِيَّةِ أَنَّ البُخْلَ لَا يَجْلِبُ السَّعَادَةَ، بَلْ يُؤَدِّي إِلَى العُزْلَةِ وَخُسْرَانِ القِيمِ الإِنسَانِيَّةِ.
مَسْرَحِيَّةُ البَخِيلَة تُعْتَبَرُ جُزْءًا مِنْ مَشْرُوعِ أَحْمَد شَوْقِي النَّهْضَوِيِّ الَّذِي سَعَى فِيهِ إِلَى اِسْتِخْدَامِ الأَدَبِ كَأَدَاةٍ لِلتَّوْعِيَةِ وَالإِصْلَاحِ الاجْتِمَاعِيِّ. وَقَدْ أَسَّهَمَتْ هَذِهِ المَسْرَحِيَّةُ فِي تَطْوِيرِ المَسْرَحِ الشِّعْرِيِّ العَرَبِيِّ وَوَضْعِ أُسُسٍ جَدِيدَةٍ لِمَسْرَحٍ يُعَالِجُ القَضَايَا وَيُرَبِّي الذَّوْقَ الفَنِّيَّ وَالأَخْلَاقِيَّ لَدَى الجُمْهُورِ.