Hamlet in a Nutshell: McEwan's novel Nutshell as a postmodern rewriting

As a postmodern rewriting of Shakespeare's one of the most essential plays, Nutshell narrates the story of an unborn baby whose parents go through the same tragedy as Hamlet's did. Hamlet has been examined mainly under the light of Freudian studies, regarding the issue of Oedipus Complex which can also be observed in Nutshell. It is fundamental to delve into the relationship between the mother and the protagonist of each of the works to compare them in terms of the complicated feelings and motivations. While doing so, the references to the senses should be surveyed closely since they play a very important role in communication. Because, the lack of the sense of sight would be affecting the connection between the characters and bring a new dimension to the story especially when the protagonist happens to be an unborn baby in Nutshell. Since women characters step forth due to their significance in both works, their conditions ought to be reviewed to comment on how they are represented and treated and whether they are affected by male domination in any way. This paper thus aims to examine all the mentioned concerns under certain subtitles, relating them to Hamlet and Nutshell while spotting the similarities and differences. Key Words: Hamlet, Oedipus Complex, Freud, Nutshell, Postmodernism