Amid the Horrors of War: Nature, Woman, and House in The Wasted Vigil by Nadeem Aslam

Abstract

Nadeem Aslam is a Pakistani-born British author. He was born on July 11, 1966, in Gujranwala, Pakistan, and fled to Yorkshire, England, at the age of fourteen. He was a student of Biochemistry, but dropped out in the middle to pursue his ultimate interest in a writing career. The art and craft of the novel he learnt with great endeavour. To accomplish himself in the field of writing and secure a place among the renowned authors, he painstakingly copied the complete texts of Lolita, Moby Dick, Beloved, and As I Lay Dying to learn minutely the punctuation marks, paragraph setting, and chapter design. He shared this with Amina Yaqin in an interview. The present novel under consideration, The Wasted Vigil, portrays war-ridden Afghanistan. The narrative of destruction is prevalent in Afghanistan’s landscape. Amid the horrors of war, there are some soothing and sensuous images of Nature’s splendid beauty. Similarly, fundamentalism is challenged by the female characters who are considered fragile by the orthodox. Again, the presence of Marcus’ house resonates throughout the novel's pages, providing an opportunity for various ideologies and nations to coexist peacefully under its roof without discrimination. The paper aims to contemplate on Nature, Woman, and House and document their presence and importance in the narrative.