Literary-philosophical researches

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The Return of Metanarrative in Ian McEwan’s Saturday

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Assistant Professor of English Language and Literature, Department of English Language, Faculty of Human Sciences, Ghiasedin Jamshid Kashani University, Qazvin, Iran

10.22080/lpr.2025.29709.1127

Abstract

This article employs a descriptive-analytical method to examine how the concept of metanarrative re-emerges in the literature of terror, specifically in Ian McEwan’s Saturday. Jean-François Lyotard identifies the fragmentation of metanarratives as a defining feature of the postmodern era. The aim of this research is to explore whether the metanarratives, as Lyotard states, are destroyed and whether McEwan’s Saturday inspires its readers toward political resistance. To this end, after reading McEwan’s novel, it is argued that what happened on September 11th prompted the capitalist system to revive the metanarratives, particularly the grand narratives of emancipation. Nevertheless, as we read in Ian McEwan’s Saturday, the novel presents counter-narratives against this revival by bringing to the fore the logical and complex arguments of the novel’s protagonist and his daughter, Daisy. Ultimately, by refraining from issuing a final verdict, McEwan helps the reader actively participate in this political struggle and form an independent political awareness.

Keywords

References
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Literary-philosophical researches
Volume 4, Issue 1 - Serial Number 7
May 2026
Pages 153-170
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