Existential Alienation as an Inherent Paradigm in the Novels of Bothayna Al-Essa: A Case Study

Abstract

Modern literary texts represent one of the most prominent intellectual currents within the postmodern era. However, they only attain literary legitimacy by fulfilling the requirements of Cultural Criticism, which highlights their aesthetic value and intellectual references. This necessitates that the female writer possesses a profound awareness of these elements to become an empowered creator, capable of employing various cultural paradigms within her text. Consequently, these texts do not remain exposed or direct; rather, they conceal their ideas behind symbolic veils, imparting a semantic and aesthetic depth to the work. Accordingly, this study adopts the methodology of Cultural Criticism to conduct a cultural reading of narrative texts, aiming to monitor the hidden patterns (latent formats) through which the text's code is deciphered and the discourse's intentionality is identified. The research is built upon a theoretical framework that addresses the concept of existential alienation as an inherent paradigm, followed by an applied framework focused on analyzing the texts and utilizing the cultural visions and dimensions hidden within them.