Fear of Intimacy in Rabih Alameddine’s I, The Divine

Ikram Lecheheb

doi:10.22161/ijels.51.27

Abstract

The paper examines how the Lebanese American novelist Rabih Alameddine in I, The Divine (2002) shows the psychology of hybrid subject in Diaspora. Through creating a fictional space, the author sheds light on how Sarah suffers from fear of intimacy due to a combination of past traumatic experiences: The Lebanese Civil War, the rape scene, separation from her mother. Through a close reading of Alameddine’s novel, the study does not only stress how fear of abandonment, fear of betrayal, and fear of low self- esteem intertwine to form a fear of intimacy in Sarah’s emotional relations, but it also highlights how the protagonist unconsciously avoids attachment as a defense mechanism employing Freud’s ideas.

Highlights

The paper examines how the Lebanese American novelist Rabih Alameddine in I, The Divine (2002) shows the psychology of hybrid subject in Diaspora
The current study delves into examining the concept of fear of intimacy through a close reading of Rabih Alameddine’s I, The Divine
In A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis (1920), there is a chapter entitled “Fear and Anxiety” in which Freud deals with fear and its connection with narcissism, anxiety, and how they affect intimacy or what Freud refers to as a fear of intimacy

Summary

Introduction

The paper examines how the Lebanese American novelist Rabih Alameddine in I, The Divine (2002) shows the psychology of hybrid subject in Diaspora. The novel involves the rhythms, processes, and uncertainties of trauma that lead Sarah to suffer from a large number of psychological upsets and disorders.While keeping in mind the Freudian concept of a psychoanalytic study of human behavior, Tyson argues that human beings encounter with various painful experiences including excessive emotions, fears, guilt and conflicts unconsciously which we do not want to get to be overwhelmed.

Results

Conclusion