Echoes of the Unconscious: Lacanian Readings of Identity and the Symbolic in The Shadow Lines and The Strange Case of Billy Biswas

Abstract

This paper applies Lacanian psychoanalytic theory to examine identity, desire, and the symbolic order in Amitav Ghosh’s The Shadow Lines and Arun Joshi’s The Strange Case of Billy Biswas. Using Lacan’s concepts of the Imaginary, Symbolic, and Real, the study argues that both novels present the subject as divided, unstable, and shaped by lack. In The Shadow Lines, fragmented memory, blurred borders, and acts of violence reveal how identity is constructed through language and social structures. In The Strange Case of Billy Biswas, Billy’s estrangement from urban life and his movement toward the tribal world reflect a refusal of symbolic norms and a search for wholeness that remains unattainable. The comparative reading shows that both texts explore the tension between the desire for unity and the fragmented nature of selfhood. Ultimately, the paper suggests that a Lacanian reading offers deeper insight into how postcolonial identity is formed, displaced, and troubled by language, memory, and desire.