Memoryscapes of Guilt, Grief and Loss in Jokha Alharthi’s Bitter Orange Tree

Abstract

Explicit and implicit memories are part and parcel of our everyday activities. Sites of memory may be located in various metaphors like personal experiences, emotions, stories, and physical objects like food, clothes, accessories, childhood, youth or even old age. These aspects help in making sense of the present because past or personal experiences provide a gateway for an exploration of the nuances that have contributed largely not just in the resurgence of tales of bereavement, exclusion or even subversion, but also in exploring and identifying new cultural commonalities and differences. Jokha Alharthi’s Bitter Orange Tree narrates the ruminations of Zuhour, a young Omani student, who, although residing in Britain is being constantly tugged by memories of her deceased surrogate grandmother in Oman. The spooling narrative is interlaced with threads of stories, traumatic memories and accounts of unrequited love, artistically juxtaposed against the fulfilled dreams and blissful experiences of other vivid characters like the grandmother and Zuhour’s friend Suroor. The paper “Memoryscapes of Guilt, Grief and Loss in Jokha Alharthi’s Bitter Orange Tree” seeks to discern how the individual acts of remembrance of the three key figures help not just in exploring their individual cultural identity but also depicts their lived experience in another place.