Original scientific paper

The Human and the Monster in Ahmed Saadawi’s Novel Frankenstein in Baghdad

Meysun Gharaibeh Simonović ; University of Belgrade

Abstract

This paper explores specific and general intertextuality in Ahmed Saadawi’s novel Frankenstein in Baghdad (2013). Specific intertextuality is evident through title citations and selective continuations of direct and indirect allusions within Saadawi’s narrative, engaging in gothic postmodern parody with Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818). In a broader sense, Saadawi’s novel achieves general intertextuality by drawing on the gothic discourse, particularly in the spirit of gothic dystopia, postcolonial, and posthuman gothic, incorporating elements from moral utopia, thriller, detective, and Kafkaesque novel, as well as magical and critical realism. By reactualizing the gothic trope of monsters and employing literary techniques that render the unreal ordinary, Saadawi explores the continuum of brutal violence against individuals, collectives, and their environment, especially during the destructive years of 2005 and 2006 in contemporary Iraqi history.

Keywords

contemporary Iraqi novel; Ahmed Saadawi; Frankenstein in Baghdad; intertextuality; gothic discourse; nightmarish realism

Hrčak ID:

322291

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/322291

Publication date:

11.11.2024.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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