Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-g7gxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-09T08:11:35.380Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 11 - Religious and Ideological Mythologies in Salman Rushdie’s Novels

from Part III - Historical and Cultural Contexts

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 March 2023

Florian Stadtler
Affiliation:
University of Bristol
Get access

Summary

This chapter explores the wider contexts of how Salman Rushdie deploys myths and mythologies and critiques them in his novels. Rushdie’s work has in many ways been influenced by the secular mythology that emerges in Nehru’s seminal book, The Discovery of India. This mythology links Rushdie to ideas of ‘unity in diversity’ and a distinctively Indian form of secularism that produces equal respect for the range of religious communities that inhabit this geopolitical entity. That said, Rushdie engages with a wide range of myths and mythologies, drawn from Islamic traditions, especially Sufism, but also Buddhism, Hinduism, Greek mythology, and Christianity. Rushdie also considers new myths and mythologies, especially in his engagement with popular culture, rock music, and the cult of celebrity, as well as the emergence of consumer culture and capitalism.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×