‘A Conversation from the Third Floor‘ is a short story written by Mohamed El-Bisatie that talks about a woman named Aziza’s visit to the prison. She is disappointed when denied permission to talk to her husband, but the couple eventually finds a way to converse from the third floor. The story uses third-person narrative and explores the themes of disappointment and an ineffective legal system.

A Conversation from the Third Floor | Summary

She visits the place for the second time, and the policeman notices her. The woman requests the sergeant to talk to “him” and the man tells her “he has been transferred”. She sits opposite the prison building, looking at the wet clothes hanging on the window bars. She suddenly notices a bare arm waving at her from the bars. It’s Ashour. He tells her that he has been transferred and asks about his date palms and children. He asks about his child and tells Aziza to lift him towards the sun so he can see his face.

The prisoners make obscene gestures and call out her name, abusing her while Ashour suddenly disappears. He later comes back and confirms he has received the cigarettes that he requested. Ashour repetitively tells Aziza that he’s being transferred as the authority is shutting down the prison. Ashour then looks behind him and suddenly moves away from the window and signals Aziza to move away too. She looks up at the window for a while and later breastfeeds her child. She stands up to have a last look at the window to see if it’s empty. She again sees the policeman sleeping on his horse, and the soldier on the tower, and walks towards the main street, leaving the place with disappointment.

A Conversation from the Third Floor | Analysis

The story begins with a woman who requests that the sergeant let her talk to her husband. Her name isn’t known to the readers until her husband calls her.  It isn’t specified particularly that Aziza stands outside the prison, but the description of the small identical windows, the sergeant, the armed soldier, the prisoners, and the bars implies it is a prison tower. Aziza is requesting the sergeant to let her see his husband, Ashour.

The sergeant just mentions that Ashour is being transferred, and Aziza doesn’t put much thought into it. She stands holding her child on a hot day. She is rejected and stands beside the wall when she sees her husband’s bare arm waving at her. The mud on her feet shows that she has come a long way. Her husband is placed on the third floor, and the story follows the conversation that takes place between them. Ashour starts asking about their children, his date palm. This implies that despite being confined, he thinks about his family to have something to be happy about. 

Ashour notices the child Aziza is holding and asks her to lift him so that he can have a better look at him. Ashour is joyful listening to the child’s wailing in the annoying company of the prisoners. Ashour is desperate for his cigarettes, too, and mentions it multiple times. Aziza does everything Ashour says. She gets the five packets of cigarettes that he asked for, she puts the child’s face towards the sun when Ashour asks him to, lets him cry, and only puts him down when Ashour tells her.

Ashour repetitively complains about the pack of cigarettes, that some of them are missing, and this implies the corrupt society or atmosphere in the prison. The bars in the prison and Aziza’s being rejected to see Ashour show the lack of access and denial of freedom.

The unsystematic and indifferent authority is shown through the sergeant on the horse, who is seen sleeping by Aziza throughout the story, and the guard who rests his head on the wall of the tower.

Aziza struggles to make conversation with Ashour, with the prisoners making obscene gestures at her, Ashour disappears repeatedly, and she has to shout for Ashour to hear her words. She has traveled a long way with her child to see her husband in prison, but the sergeant pays no heed to her. Aziza notices her husband misses his children, but later shifts to his desperate need for cigarettes. He complains about packets missing and interrupts their conversation. Aziza has to manage conversing with her husband while he is on the third floor and a wall and a courtyard away from him. She insists on meeting him with the sergeant, but with his denial, she just sits opposite the wall.

The waves of bare arms give her hope, but she can only see a glimpse of him. She struggles to have the conversation but is determined to talk to him, despite the disgusting gestures and crude comments of the prisoners; she talks to him using signs and later speaks louder. She prefers her husband’s commands over her child as she lifts the child facing toward the sun because Ashour asks her to do so, and she doesn’t put the child down even though the child is crying until Ashour tells her to. She talks louder when she is asked to and listens to Ashour talking about building the wall. Aziza tells him she will do it when she gets the bricks, which implies their poverty. 

Ashour tells her about the orphanage which is going to be shut down, and both of them are clueless about where he is going to be shifted. Aziza stands still looking at the window even after Ashour disappears, which shows the way she is devoted to him. Aziza seems sad and hopeless throughout the story. She stands beside the wall after being rejected by the sergeant. She isn’t too expressive during the conversation with her husband, she doesn’t know where her husband will be transferred, and has to leave without having a proper goodbye from her husband. 

Ashour, imprisoned, finds the only way to interact with his wife, Aziza. He waves, putting his face between the bars. He is excited to see her and asks her about their children. He gets to see the one child he knows the least. He tries to make a conversation by shouting while repeatedly being disturbed by his inmates. He tells Aziza to lift the child so that he can have a better look. He is happy with his lowest expectations. He rejoices when he hears the children cry, as he gets to hear his child’s voice. He seems desperate for his cigarettes and is a little annoyed that some are missing from the packet. He tries to tell Aziza that he is being transferred and knows nothing about the place he is being shifted to. Ashour gets to see just one of his children and knows little about his house, that his dates are pruned, and the wall isn’t done yet. They part ways all of a sudden when Ashour disappears from the window, signaling Aziza to go away. They part without a goodbye and are uncertain when and if they will get to see each other again.

The conversation is informal as Aziza is denied the legal right to meet Ashour. It has sadness, the hopelessness of Aziza, and the excitement and happiness of Ashour.

A Conversation from the Third Floor | Themes

Incompetent Legal System

The sergeant and the soldier of the prison imply the ineffective legal system in the story. The sergeant on the horse doesn’t pay any heed when Aziza pleads to let her talk to Ashour. He keeps his eyes shut to her request, which shows he has already denied the permission, and informs her about Ashour’s transfer. But when she talks to Ashour, the sergeant doesn’t seem to pay any attention and keeps his eyes shut as if he’s asleep. He kept his eyes shut even when the prisoners made disgusting gestures at her.

The soldier in the tower also does nothing and sits inside the tower with his helmet on. He is affected by the heat but ignores the prisoner’s indecent act against Aziza. The ineffective legal system is also shown by Ashour’s ability to talk to Aziza through the window, the prisoners shouting and singing at Aziza. Aziza knows nothing about where Ashour is going to be transferred, and when the prison is shutting down is another instance of the inefficient legal system.

Expectations and disappointment

Aziza comes a long way to talk to her husband, Ashour, in prison, but is disappointed when the sergeant doesn’t listen to her. She stands beside the wall and waits for nothing in disappointment. She suddenly hears a voice and sees a bare arm waving at her. She is happy to hear his voice, but is disappointed that she can barely see him. She sees parts of him, his arms stretched out of the window, and his face pressed on the bar between them. She talks to him using signs and has to shout to make herself audible. She has to lift her child so that Ashour can have a look at him properly. Aziza finds out that Ashour has been transferred, but their conversation is interrupted as Ashour disappears and tells Aziza to leave. 

Ashour asks about all his children, but gets to see only the one child he knows about the least. He, without any hope of seeing any of them, gets happy when he hears his child cry because that is the least of what he will get to hear.  Ashour doesn’t get the exact amount of cigarettes that he requested, as someone has taken some of them. They part ways in disappointment as they do not end their conversation but are rather interrupted.

A Conversation from the Third Floor | Characters

Aziza is a woman who has walked a long way with her child to talk to her husband, who is in prison. She seems sad, disappointed, and tired of things the way they are. The sergeant denies her permission to talk to her husband, and she converses with her husband, looking up at the third floor. 

She is devoted to her husband and does everything he says– she talks loudly to be audible, lifts the child facing him towards the sun, and covers him only when Ashour tells her to, and has brought the cigarettes he asked for. She is molested by the prisoners, and she ignores them by lowering her eyes. She hears that her husband has been transferred and will be leaving soon, but doesn’t know where he will be going and when.

She isn’t a character who complains. She pleads with the sergeant to let her talk to her husband, but doesn’t push herself. She has walked a long way to come to the prison, but doesn’t complain about it; she just listens, obeys, and later leaves.

Ashour

Ashour is the man in the prison, Aziza’s husband, who is not allowed to see his wife. As the sergeant has mentioned, he has been transferred and is leaving soon. He finds a way to talk to his wife by stretching his hand out of the prison bars. He keeps his expectations low and is happy when he hears his child cry. He is annoyed with his inmates who disturb him while talking to Aziza, and angry when he realizes they have taken some of his cigarettes sent by Aziza. He leaves without bidding a proper goodbye to his wife.

A Conversation from the Third Floor | Title

A Conversation from the Third floor implies the conversation that takes place between a prisoner, Ashour, and his wife, Aziza, who is denied permission to see him. Aziza waits without any hope and is happy to see her husband wave from the third floor. He stretches his bare arm to wave at him, and Aziza gets to see parts of his face during the conversation. A conversation that begins without any expectation and ends with disappointment as they part ways without a goodbye for the last time.

About the Author

Mohamed El-Bisatie was an Egyptian novelist and short story writer, famous in his homeland with two of his writings translated into English. He uses a minimalistic and simple style in his writings that has no drama, which makes his writings incomplete and unappealing to the speaking community. His novel ” Hunger” was shortlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction.