Hybrid Lives, Wounded Minds: An Exploration of Trauma of Dislocation in Fadia Faqir’s Diaspora Novel, The Cry of the Dove

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Assistant Professor, Department of English, Mi.C. Islamic Azad University, Miyaneh, Iran.

Abstract

This paper examines the psychological trauma caused by dislocation in Fadia Faqir's The Cry of the Dove.  The analysis contributes to the field by focusing on the interrelation of trauma, gender identity, and culture in shaping a fragmented sense of self in a character who is faced with forced dislocation. It thus draws its insights from both postcolonial and feminist trauma theories. The narrative centers on Salma, a Muslim woman forced to flee her homeland after becoming a target of an honor killing. By exploring themes of exile, psychic wounds, and cultural hybridity, the study highlights how Salma's diasporic experience complicates her identity formation. Positioned at the crossroads of honor-based violence, gender oppression, and diasporic dislocation, Salma embodies the struggle of a marginalized Muslim woman navigating alien cultural terrains. Her narrative, marked by exile, memory, and identity crises, invites a deeper understanding of trauma's enduring effects on displaced subjects. The study demonstrates that the traumatic events of Salma’s life affect an incision on her psyche, and the forced dislocation which confronts her with an entirely new culture, language, and religion aggravates her double sense.

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  • Receive Date: 04 August 2025
  • Revise Date: 12 April 2026
  • Accept Date: 12 April 2026

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