Re-Orientalism and Colonial Nostalgia in Pakistani Austen Rewritings: A Case Study of Austenistan

Abstract

Our paper aims to explore the recent Austen rewritings in Pakistani Anglophone fiction such as Austenistan as an example of professional fan fiction and postcolonial literature. These rewritings, we argue, possess such qualities that not only appeal to Janeites but also adhere to Re-Orientalism. The primary premise of our work focuses on the strategic use of ‘Austenmania’ by Pakistani Anglophone female writers in their fiction and its tendencies to project an oriental gaze on Pakistan, while also aligning it with the ‘benevolent modernity’ of former colonial masters. In our paper, we have critically analysed seven stories from the anthology Austenistan by mainly drawing upon the theoretical lens of Re-Orientalism propounded by Lisa Lau along with other relevant theories of Robert Dryden, Sarah Brouillette, Patricia M. E. Lorcin, and William Bissell, etc. Our research explores that Pakistani Janeites employ the practices of “possession” and “selfothering” in Austenistan through compromised and pejorative representations of Pakistan which is a manifestation of their nostalgia for the colonial past.
Keywords: Janeites, Regency era, South Asian writers, Pakistani Anglophone fiction, Self-othering, Re-Orientalism, Colonial Nostalgia.