Jurate Radaviciute, Devoid of (E)motion: Farah’s Story

Abstract

Abstract This essay investigates the theme of emotionlessness in Salman Rushdie’s novel Shame; the research is carried out within the theoretical framework of postmodernism. In the novel, otherwise filled with strong emotions such as love, hate and shame, one character, Farah Zoroaster, can be singled out as a person characterised by a lack of emotion. The question raised in this research is about the place of emotionlessness in the narrative of the novel and the functions it performs. It is discovered that although Farah has a unique position in the novel, her story is intertwined with those of other migrant/ peripheral characters such as Bilquis Hyder, Eduardo Rodrigues and Omar Khayyam Shakil as opposed to the protagonists of the novel Iskander Harappa and Raza Hyder, who are local/central characters of the novel. However, alongside the narrative lines of her father and Eduardo Rodrigues, Farah Zoroaster’s story explores the topic of migration from a perspective of personal freedom and spirituality, which is different from other migrant narratives in the novel. The postmodern nature of the narrative plays with the reader by offering contrasting connotations of the freedom and spirituality attributed to the emotionlessness of Farah, such as narcissism and the absence of personal qualities.