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Title Social Anarchism and Abjection: Reading Grief and Guild in Usman Ali’s Anglophone Plays

Author(s) Ms. Fareeha Zaheer

Abstract Thesis Title: Social Anarchism and Abjection: Reading Grief and Guilt in Usman Ali’s Anglophone Plays Pakistani English dramatist Usman Ali, through his dramatic art form, tries to subvert hierarchies of power that take advantage of the socioeconomic circumstances of the masses. Through his dramatic oeuvre, he showcases elements of anarchism and resistance among the people in a postcolonial country like Pakistan. However, his characters only seem to suffer through grief and the resultant guilt, two psychological states of mind that do not qualify them as revolutionaries per se who may challenge the established state order and control. Passive resistance through utter grief seems to be the hallmark of Ali’s characters and their actions. For this purpose, Bakunin's perspective on anarchism is invoked. The anarchist viewpoint best fits Ali's characters as a means of liberating themselves from the socio-political forces that oppress them. Anarchism and guilt share a dialectical relationship; they are different yet run parallel to each other. Anarchism is an action that devolves around chaos and evolves into change. Similarly, guilt spirals into depression or becomes the catalyst for transformation. Guilt is not embarrassment, but the guilt of inaction in the time of action, hence a moment of change and transformation for Ali’s characters. Through his characters’ personal growth, Ali seeks to galvanise his readers and viewers to question norms, societal structures and institutions, thereby fostering anarchist thought. Invoking Kristeva’s theory of abjection, this study also finds the socio-psychic conditions of the marginalised population, including the artists in Pakistan. The abject has no social position, so it's the Other. Elisabeth Kubler Ross's "Theory of Grief" is also employed as a supporting lens for the representation of grief, and death as the abject, the social norms centred around it and how grief can arise from the death of not just the physical body, but ideas, way of life, dreams and aspirations. The study finds out that Ali’s dramaturgy posits the dramatic form as a process whereby man’s psyche and imagination defer, confront, and re-describe the lived reality. Grief of marginalization, the discomfort and psychological conflict arising from the socio-economic circumstances act as a stimulus which ultimately leads to contemplation about their miseries. Since Pakistani Anglophone literature in general, but drama in particular has failed to garner desired critical attention, this research is an attempt to bring it into the global critical limelight.

Type Thesis/Dissertation PhD

Faculty Languages

Department English

Language English

Publication Date 2024-06-10

Subject PhD English Literature

Publisher Department of English (GS)

Contributor(s) Dr. M Safeer Awan

Format As per departmental guidelines

Identifier Dr. Muhammad Haseeb Nasir (PhD English Program Coordinator)

Source PhD

Relation

Coverage

Rights