A Psychoanalytical Study of Repressed Emotions and Experiences

Abstract

This research explores the repressed emotions and experiences in The Blind Man’s Garden (2013) by Nadeem Aslam. It focuses on the repressive psyche of the protagonist Mikal and his family due to the diverse social and political circumstances of Pakistan and Afghanistan. The study aims at the concept of repression coined by Austrian psychologist Sigmund Freud. In this concept, the unpleasant experiences are penned down to forgetfulness in order to avoid harsh emotions associated with them. This study mainly deals with the suppression of desires and emotions of all characters on two major levels that are on individual as well as on social level. It brings to light the unassuming and restrained mentality of characters in the terrific time period of continuous suffering, terror, and jihad. The unpretentious life of Mikal and his clash between duty and faith, peace, and terrorism has been depicted. This work examines the experiences of the struggle of Naheed between love and honor.