Re-Reading Zadia Smith’s White Teeth through the lens of Lacanian Psychoanalysis

Abstract

Zadie Smith's acclaimed novel White Teeth explores the complexities of identity, belonging, and cultural hybridity in multi-ethnic London. This paper offers a Lacanian psychoanalytic reading of the novel, delving into the ways in which Smith's characters grapple with the fragmented nature of the self and the elusive quest for a stable, unified identity. Lacanian psychoanalysis can provide a distinct and insightful understanding of the intergenerational and cultural conflicts depicted in Zadie Smith’s White Teeth. Therefore, the present study examines how the protagonists navigate the uncanny experience of confronting the inherent split and lack at the core of their being. It also explores how the characters' attempts to construct coherent identities are constantly undermined by the intrusion of the reality, the return of the repressed, and the inescapable influence of the symbolic structures that shape their subjectivities.