REFLECTING GUILT AND SHAME PRONENESS: THE ROLE OF IDENTITY ORIENTATION IN AAMINA AHMAD'S THE RETURN OF FARAZ ALI

Abstract

The present thesis is written to critically examine the representation of the psychological elements guilt and shame in The Return of Faraz Ali by Aamina Ahmad, to reflect Pakistan’s postcolonial era 1960s onwards covering the themes of culture, politics, class, caste, and identity orientation. For the detailed analysis, Sara Ahmad’s Affect Theory is applied to study the quest for identity orientation by the protagonist Faraz Ali, forced by his father and society, and other characters such as Rozina, Wajid, and Firdous. The given research explores how guilt and shame act as affective forces that form identity, social relations, and raise ethical consciousness within the context of postcolonial Pakistan, unlike conventional psychological interpretations. By using Sara Ahmed’s concept of emotions as orientations that lead bodies towards or away from specific places, histories, and subjects, it is seen in the study that novel constructs identity through emotional economies rooted in social stratification, caste hierarchies, gendered oppression, and colonial legacies. The results of the study reveal that shame function as a separating force that marks people as socially contaminated, silenced, and excluded, as well as reinforcing structures marginalization. Through the character of Rozina, the novel reflects the destructive consequences of shame in the caste-based and patriarchal driven societies. Furthermore, guilt appears as a restorative force that directs the characters to confront suppressed histories and unresolved injustices. Likewise, Faraz Ali’s return to Shahi Mohalla, the red-light district of Lahore epitomizes an ethical involvement towards recognition, accountability, and reconciliation with the past memories brimmed with good and bad incidents. Similarly, the correlation between guilt and shame creates a state of affective disorientation that categorizes postcolonial subjectivity, presenting emotional attachments and exclusions promote identity formation. The present study concludes that the novel by Aamina Ahmad The Return of Faraz Ali (2022) is the illustration of guilt and shame as fundamental affective structures that orient individuals within complex networks of power, memory, and social belonging. With the application of Sara Ahmed’s Affect Theory (2004), the novel showcases postcolonial identity not static but flexible, emerges through an ongoing process of reorientation shaped by historical trauma, social stigma, and emotional inheritance. Conclusively, the thesis emphasizes on the significance of Sara Ahmed’s Affect Theory (2004) in fabricating the intricate relationship between emotions, identity, and postcolonial experience.