Anxious Entanglements: Gothic Monstrosity, Abjection and World-Systems in FRANKENSTEIN IN BAGHDAD and THE JEWEL OF SEVEN STARS

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Published: Jun 30, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.47743/lincu-2025-1-0399
Keywords:
Gothic monstrosity abjection world-systems imperialism

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Bianca Mihaela Crișan
West University of Timișoara, Romania

Abstract

Gothic literature frequently employs monstrosity to reveal deep-seated cultural anxieties, symbolically confronting fears of cultural exchange, imperialism, and historical violence. This article examines how Bram Stoker’s The Jewel of Seven Stars and Ahmed Saadawi’s Frankenstein in Baghdad utilize resurrected Gothic beings to interrogate East-West power dynamics and imperial tensions. Employing Julia Kristeva’s theory of abjection and Immanuel Wallerstein’s world-systems analysis, the article argues that Queen Tera and the Whatsitsname are abject entities who embody repressed historical traumas and challenge imperialist boundaries. Through detailed textual analysis, this paper demonstrates how both novels expose anxieties around cultural appropriation and the violent legacies of imperialism, highlighting the haunting entanglements between Europe and the Middle East.

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How to Cite
Crișan, B. M. “Anxious Entanglements: Gothic Monstrosity, Abjection and World-Systems in FRANKENSTEIN IN BAGHDAD and THE JEWEL OF SEVEN STARS”. Linguaculture, vol. 16, no. 1, June 2025, pp. 90-108, doi:10.47743/lincu-2025-1-0399.
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Vol. 16 No. 1 (2025): East≠West: Revisiting Travel and Cultural Mobility
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Articles
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Author Biography

Bianca Mihaela Crișan, West University of Timișoara, Romania

Bianca Mihaela CRIȘAN is a PhD student in English Literature at the West University of Timișoara, Romania. Her research investigates Gothic literature as a space for exploring cultural anxieties around monstrosity, abjection, and the legacies of colonialism. Focusing on both nineteenth-century and contemporary texts, her work addresses the ethical and political dimensions of literary representations of violence, otherness, and systemic collapse. She also teaches English at the high school level and is committed to fostering critical thinking through literature and education.

References

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