Monstrous Anxiety: Reinterpreting Mythical Beasts in Saadawi and Ishiguro&rsquo;s Post-Conflict Narratives

Student, Bassam Al-Musa, MA; Khaleel, Intisar Rashid

doi:10.25130/Lang.9.3.P2.21

	Monstrous Anxiety: Reinterpreting Mythical Beasts in Saadawi and Ishiguro’s Post-Conflict Narratives
Journal of Language Studies
Volume 9, Issue 3, Part 2, September 2025, Pages 330-347 PDF (578.75 K)
Document Type: Original Article
DOI: 10.25130/Lang.9.3.P2.21
Authors
Bassam Al-Musa, MA Student¹; Intisar Rashid Khaleel²
¹Idleb University
²Tikrit University
Abstract
This paper analyses the reinterpretation of old monster archetypes now construed as sources of modern anxieties in Saadawi's Frankenstein in Baghdad (2018) and Ishiguro's The Buried Giant (2015). Based on monster theory, myth transformation, and post-colonial criticism, this comparative study interrogates how both texts reimagine established monstrous figures to articulate trauma, fragmented identities, and conflict consequences. The analysis reveals that the composite Whatsitsname of Saadawi and the amnesia-inducing dragon Querig by Ishiguro act as complex allegories for social fragmentation and contested memory in post-conflict situations. Although both emerged from quite different cultural backgrounds—the post-2003 invasion of Iraq and post-Arthurian Britain—both demonstrate how classical monsters can be transformed from external threats into subtle indicators of internal and social fracture. The study illustrates how monster symbolism transcends culture while remaining responsive to different historical circumstances. Monsters persist across cultures because of their profound symbolism in "making sense of the inexplicable," especially in conflict and disorder contexts.
Keywords
Collective Memory; Contemporary Mythology; Cultural Hybridity; Literary Monsters; Monster Theory; Postcolonial Literature; Post-conflict Literature; Social Fragmentation; Symbolism; Trauma Narratives

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