Civilizational Alienation and Its Reflections in the Novel A Stranger in London by the Novelist Jamal Haidar

Abstract

Alienation has become one of the defining phenomena of contemporary societies, reflecting the psychological, social, and cultural transformations experienced by individuals under conditions of displacement and instability. This study investigates the manifestations of civilizational alienation in Jamal Haidar’s novel A Stranger in London, examining how the novelist reconstructs an ancient yet marginalized civilization through the protagonist’s symbolic relationship with the memory of distant historical eras. Iraq occupies a central position in the narrative as a symbolic space where different forms of alienation intersect, shaped by political turmoil, social fragmentation, and cultural disruption. The novel was selected because it provides a profound literary representation of the psychological consequences of alienation, portraying the characters’ experiences of estrangement, anxiety, disappointment, and loss of belonging. These experiences gradually transform alienation from an individual psychological condition into a broader existential and civilizational crisis. The narrative also illustrates how oppressive social and political conditions erode personal identity and collective consciousness. The findings reveal that the novel presents interconnected forms of alienation, including self-alienation, emotional alienation, and spatial alienation, all of which contribute to the fragmentation of the self and the weakening of its relationship with the Other. These dimensions expose the psychological emptiness caused by displacement and cultural dislocation, presenting alienation as a dominant narrative phenomenon that reflects the recurring suffering of individuals and the erosion of existential and civilizational values in contemporary Iraqi society.