From Dusk to Dawn: The Evolution of Cultural Identity in Edna O’Brien’s The Light of the Evening and Susan Abulhawa’s Mornings in Jenin

Abstract

This essay traces the evolution of the Irish and Palestinian cultural identities of Dilly in Edna O’Brien’s The Light of the Evening and Amal in Susan Abulhawa’s Mornings in Jenin. It implements Stuart Hall’s Three Conceptions of Identity to uncover the dynamic development of their evolving cultural identities, tracing the three stages of cultural identity evolution. First, the Enlightenment subject outlines the relationship between the protagonists, their homeland. Second, the Sociological subject analyses the protagonists who have been shocked by societal and political changes. Third, the Postmodern subject portrays the fragmentation and hybridity of the protagonists. O’Brien and Abulhawa subvert colonial binaries, generating a radical vision of selfhood that thrives in ambiguity.