Frankenstein in Baghdad

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2013

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologue-Chapter 4

Chapters 5-8

Chapters 9-11

Chapters 12-15

Chapters 16-19

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

The Portrait of Saint George and Other Religious Iconography

Elishva’s portrait of Saint George recurs throughout the novel; she frequently talks to it in order to ask for the safe return of her son, and—at least in her imagination—Saint George talks back to her, often long into the night, typically counseling patience. Elishva views Saint George as her patron saint, although it is never made clear why, aside from the fact that George is canonically a saint associated with the military. At the end of the novel, Elishva cuts his face out of the portrait and takes it with her; the hole where his face used to be disturbs Hadi as he gathers up her things.

Religion plays an interesting role in the novel, especially for Elishva. Nominally Assyrian Christian, Elishva’s true faith is an amalgamation of whatever suits her, and following the return of “Daniel”—the Whatsitsname—she makes the rounds of not only churches but mosques and synagogues, as well. Likewise, the novel is filled with religions icons of all kinds, including more mystical elements, and the neighborhood of Bataween itself is built on Jewish ruins (in fact, Hadi’s house—which in turn has an icon of the Virgin Mary—is known as “The Jewish Ruin”). As a result, spirituality is difficult to pin down, suggesting a more cosmopolitan influence.

Digital Recorders and Other New Technologies

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein questioned the nature of technological and scientific progress; while Frankenstein in Baghdad does this to a lesser extent, some symbols of technological progress do stand in for other kinds of developments. Most notable is Mahmoud’s digital recorder, which he uses as an upgrade (at least, as he sees it) over traditional pen-and-paper methods, and which ties into the question of narrative reliability. Mahmoud sees a digital recorder as a more reliable way of recording his thoughts, and in many ways it is; however, the digital recorder presents its own problems. For one, it forces Hadi into shyness—not with Mahmoud, but earlier, when he notices a digital recorder being wielded by men he doesn’t know. Further, it complicates the recording of the Whatsitsname—Hadi isn’t sure how to use it, and the batteries run out very quickly, forcing the Whatsitsname to repeatedly begin anew. At the same time, it gives Mahmoud the opportunity to analyze the speech patterns of the speaker—and, later, it allows the “author” to compare the voice with that of Abu Salim after meeting him in the hospital.

As with most things in the novel, the digital recorder does not represent one idea of progress, but rather one smaller connection to a larger issue—that of narrative reliability. As a result, it is neutral depending on the context and can take on many things—in the end, it represents a form of salvation for Mahmoud, as he is able to sell it and thus to get back home. This is an affordance, though—an unintended use.

The American Military Presence in Iraq

The Americans are simultaneously ever-present and anonymous in this novel. There are no named American characters—only the odd American military policeman or liaison officer who arrives with Iraqis. This anonymity has an interesting effect, as it mirrors the strangeness of the American occupation of the country: As readers, we are made keenly aware of the presence of American forces, yet they are fundamentally estranged from the events and characters themselves. Even Brigadier Majid, a military officer, does not work with any Americans and only meets with unnamed American officers while being interrogated. Thus, although the American presence is constantly felt, it is never fully realized; it serves instead as an amorphous threat and a reminder of why the country is unstable in the first place.

Bombings and Violence

Naturally, in a novel set in an unstable, post-war Baghdad, bombings are a motif in the novel, which is bookended by two prominent bombings and influenced by a third. The novel opens with the bombing of Tayaran Square, which Elishva hardly notices, while an earlier car bomb that killed Nahem has done irreparable damage to Hadi’s emotional state. Bombings occur throughout the novel almost as background noise—as mentioned elsewhere, despite being a journalist, Mahmoud hardly responds to them, as if they’re not worth his while. However, the final bombing, which takes place directly outside of Umm and Abu Salim’s house, punctuates the book, as it in fact levels the neighborhood, nearly killing—and ruining—Faraj in the process.

Interestingly, the deadliest incident of the novel appears to be one in which a bombing did not take place, that of Imams Bridge. There, a rumored suicide bomber caused a stampede, which killed more than 1,000 people. This event symbolizes the function of terrorism—to put people into a perpetual state of fear—while counterbalancing the novel’s larger representation of terrorism, which is that of an almost banal, everyday occurrence, and one that the citizens of Bataween hardly notice anymore.