The Thief and the Dogs; CH 12

The 12th chapter begins with Said trying on the uniform and Nur admiring his work. The next night she finds out that Said is wanted for murder. Nur gives him one last chance to flee his troubles: "You don't love me. I know that. But at least we could have lived together until you did love me!" He makes her alll these promises, that they'd run away and live together forever.
Said visits Tarzan at the coffeehouse only to be told that it is not even afe there anymore. He returned to his lonely dark hideout at Nur's. He was angry and frustrated, because he knew it was rauf's fault that Said's story had been blown up-- by one newspaper in particular. Rauf was not giving up in stirring up more controversy against Said. Said feels that his life will have loss all meaning, unless he kills the ones who have betrayed him. He starts to look back before "time brought terrible changes" to Rauf Ilwan. He even claims that his former mentor possessed within the same power that Said could not even find in the Sheikh. He even remembers all Rauf taught him, like his love of reading or self-respect in being a thief. Said was transforned into a Robin Hood of more modern times. He is in shock of how much Rauf has flipped in philosophy, "You too, want to kill me, to murder your conscience and past as well."
There seems to be some foreshadowing when Nur returns. He kisses her more enthusiiastically, "knowing her now to be the person closes to him for as long as he might live." She told Said about how he's all they talk about, he is a hot topic... "as if you were some story book hero. But they don't have any idea what torture we go through." <--- it sounds like every one else has a positive view when they are on the outside looking IN.
On page 115, Said then brings up the term DOGS again, with a negative connotation. He then reveals to the readers that he does not use this term literally, at all. I was confused at the end of this chapter because.... it seems to me that Said implies that Nur associates with Rauf, when Said calls her a liar.

The Thief & the Dogs; continued.

The 6th chapter of Mahfouz's novel is the one in which Nur, the prostitute, conspires with our main character in order to steal a car from one of her clients. I loved the juxtaposition of: "... he could hear through the silence the sounds of love being made in whispers." :} Said recalls how his mentor, Rauf used to justify their stealing by saying that the INTENTIONS were 'good.' I found it ironic that Said called the prostitute Kindhearted, almost reminescent of Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. Said is incredibly sarcastic with Nur, even though she risks herself to help him. He is aware of the sincerity of her affection but wants none of it and so she refers to him as heartless.
Chapter 7 of The Thief & the Dogs is one of the kinds that begin in the mind of the protagonist. He admits to himself that he acts on impulse a lot. He's actually conscious that it isn't always correct to act without thinking. What disturbed me was when he told himself it 'better would be to settle with Rauf instead of killing both Ilish & Nabawiyya. Why better? As if the betrayal the two committed was not as huge or personal.
For the first time ever, Said considers sparing his ex-wife's life in order for her to look after their beloved daughter, Sana. Finally, the thief shows some sort of thought process. He still remains vindictive:

It was not right that Ilish Sidra should stay alive for even one day while Said Mahran was a free man.

Said is plotting, a little. He tries to break into the Sidra home and shoots the first figure he sees and Said flees at the sound of a woman's screams. He assumes it was his ex-wife and that he had shot Ilish in front of her... only to read it in the paper the next day that the man he murdered was a stranger.
I found the stylistic symbolism at the end, in which Nur [whose name signifies LIGHT] is the one he avoids as a safe place to hide out because he knew she'd be some one the police would likey investigate. The chapter ironically ends:

"Darkness must extend from now on to all eternity."