The Death/Life Antithesis In Fahad Alharthi's The Book Of Margins: An Existentialistic Approach

Abstract

During the last few decades, Saudi Arabia has experienced tremendous political, economic, and social transformations that have profoundly impacted every facet of life in the Kingdom. The profound metamorphic developments have conspicuously inspired Saudi playwrights to investigate their consequences within the realm of theatre. As Saudi Arabia strives to occupy a prominent global position in the artistic and theatrical domain, insightful academic studies and critical investigations of Saudi drama, particularly in English, have become indispensable. Hence, the current study aims to contribute to the academic research on Saudi theatre by presenting a critical evaluation of Saudi drama and bringing forth the Saudi playwright Fahad Alharthi's distinctive interpretation of the interconnectedness between the death/life antithesis and the absurdity of human existence. The study traces the impact of Existentialism as the essential theoretical foundation of the Theatre of the Absurd. It investigates the philosophical framework to explore the dominant factors that contributed to the emergence of Absurd drama and shed light on the significant characteristics of this particular theatrical genre. Additionally, the study scrutinizes how Alharthi adeptly demonstrated the concepts of Existentialism and proficiently utilized the technical devices of the Absurd Theatre despite his adherence to the cultural context of the conservative Saudi society. The paper relates the topic of Absurdism to the current realities of diverse individuals. It explores how Fahad Alharthi has investigated the obsession with the inevitability of death and rebelled against the absurdity of human existence by demonstrating several philosophical questions from diverse perspectives. The research aspires to divulge the playwright's philosophical perspective and unique style in representing the interconnectedness between the concept of death and the absurdity of human existence as illustrated in his play The Book of Margins (2006). The study adopts an interdisciplinary analytical approach where philosophy and drama are dovetailed and merged in order to expand the scope of the analysis