Dual Consciousness and Identity Conflict in Betool Khedairi’s Absent 'Ghāyib'

Abstract

This paper explores the conception of dual consciousness and identity conflict in Betool Khedairi's novel Absent (2004), focusing on the psychological dimensions of identity in a postcolonial context. The study uses Frantz Fanon’s framework from Black Skin, White Masks (1986) that examines the psychological effect of colonization on how an individual views self. This research draws upon Fanon’s insights to show how Khedairi’s characters, most notably Dalal the protagonist in Iraq goes on a journey of fractured identities and cultural alienation under the influence of foreign colonialism. The study demonstrates the idea of psychological alienation as per Fanon, through a close analysis of the means by which society and family pressures fragment the self perception of Dalal. This paper ultimately concludes that Dalal’s individual struggles elucidate more of the tensions surrounding identity within postcolonial Iraqi society, as those tensions continue to be colored by the effects of the colonial influence on individual and collective identity.