The use of theatre and masks: A study of sutured identities in Carey's <i>The Unusual Life of Tristan Smith</i>

Abstract

This research undertakes an in-depth analysis of the sutured identities of the selected characters of Peter Carey’s novel The Unusual Life of Tristan Smith through the lens of Stuart Hall’s notions about how the conscious or unconscious fusion of cultural roots and migratory routes of individuals bring about their sutured identities. Through the textual analysis of Carey’s novel from the postcolonial perspective, this research explores how the selected characters of the novel consciously or unconsciously construct their sutured identities to confront their incoherent and ruptured identities and consciously or unconsciously strive for constructing cohesive narratives of their Selves. It unearths the causes and effects of the sutured identities of the selected characters and discusses how they adopt, handle, and manage their sutured identities in the context of their intracultural, transcultural and transnational experiences. This brings to the fore important factors that shape, influence and disrupt their sutured identities. This study not only provides a functional definition of the concept of the suturing of identities, but it also propounds a valuable critique on the gaps and issues related to Hall’s notions about the suturing of identities.