Crossing frontiers : the journey towards interstitial identities in Salman Rushdie 's The Satanic Verses, The Ground Beneath Her Feet and Fury

Abstract

As an artist who straddles two cultures, Rushdie derives sustenance from his interstitial position. Ardently advocating frontier-crossing, Rushdie's artistic impulses are driven by his desire to cross frontiers. There is a tendency amongst critics, however, to create boundaries around his novels by categorising his novels according to rigid standpoints. In Chapter l I investigate how critics have taken Rushdie to task for not adhering to their specific ideological perspectives. The Satanic Verses, The Ground Beneath Her Feet and Fury are thematically connected by their exploration of the male protagonist's construction of an interstitial identity through the process of migration. Chapter 2 opens with a discussion on the male protagonists' movement toward the West and Rushdie's use of the aeroplane as an interstitial space that evokes an enquiring stance against the rigidity of frontiers. This chapter will also explore the male protagonists' experiences within the metropolitan cityscape and their attempts to assimilate themselves within its borders. Chapter 3 investigates the male protagonists' encounters with father-figures. The connection between the male protagonist's construction of their identity and their interaction with father-figures is a key feature in Rushdie's oeuvre. This chapter will also discuss how the male protagonists' relationship with the father-figure is characterised by fixity and animosity. The male protagonists' encounters with female figures, forms a crucial aspect in their journey towards mastering an interstitial identity for themselves. Thus, Chapter 4 will discuss how Rushdie endows his female protagonists with his brand of interstitial ethos. The male protagonists' mastery of an interstitial identity, therefore, depends on their ability to accept and incorporate this interstitial ethos into a strategy for the construction of an interstitial identity. I will conclude this discussion with an analysis of Sha/imar the Clown and The Enchantress of Florence in light of Rushdie's favoured theme - frontier-crossing.