From Khartoum to London: The Metaphoric Correspondences between the Homeland and the Host Land in Leila Aboulela’s Minaret

Abstract

Leila Aboulela’s Minaret is an account of the protagonist Najwa’s diasporic life in London. There, she works as a housemaid in contrast to her homeland in Khartoum, where she used to live in a multistoried house with servants. The article conducts a metaphor analysis of Najwa’s tragic tale of immigrants’ life in the host land, London, and the material conditions that force her to work as a housemaid. The analysis explores the structural metaphors, a type of conceptual metaphor, in the novel to demonstrate how the experiences in Khartoum inform the perceptions, feelings, and understanding of the situations in London. The article argues that Najwa calls diasporic life an imprisonment and immigration to London as a fall to metaphorically describe her guilt-ridden, poverty-stricken life as a servant in London. The analysis concludes with how Najwa overcomes her guilt and attains absolution by coming to terms with her life in the host land.