Unveiling the Uncanny: A Study of Gothic Elements in Jinnistan by Ayesha Muzaffar with Respect to Edgar Allan Poe’s Selected Works

Abstract

This thesis explores the gothic elements in Jinnistan by Ayesha Muzaffar with respect to the selected short stories of Edgar Allan Poe. The selected short stories are from an anthology of Edgar Allan Poe’s works titled Edgar Allan Poe: Story Teller. This anthology comprises seven short stories, namely ‘The Mask of the Red Death,’ ‘The Story of William Wilson,’ ‘The Fall of the House of Usher,’ ‘The Black Cat,’ ‘The Murders in the Rue Morgue,’ ‘The Tell-Tale Heart,’ and ‘The Cask of Montillado.’ This study utilizes the theory of uncanny by Sigmund Freud as a theoretical framework. Freud explores the word play between the concept of "homely" and its opposite, leading some to associate the unheimlich with the notion of the "unfamiliar." The study also uses Catherine Belsey’s textual analysis as an analytical framework. Gothic literature is a worldwide recognized genre and Edgar Allan Poe is considered to be the pioneer of this literary genre. Gothic stories included symbols that symbolically conveyed the inner suffering of their tortured protagonists, such as supernatural phenomenon, unsettling environments, and ruined architectural settings. In Pakistan, gothic fiction is in its emerging phase with only a few writers exploring this genre in their noteworthy writings. Ayesha Muzaffar is a notable author in realm of horror fiction. The analysis of this study focuses on the gothic elements present in Jinnistan with respect to the selected short stories of Poe. Also, how Jinnistan aligns with or deviates from the gothic traditions of Poe’s works and how the cultural elements have influenced the elements of uncanny in Jinnistan. This study aims to get better understanding of the evolutionary progression of gothic elements within Pakistani literature.