Religious and Philosophical Themes in Paulo Coelho’s The Zahir

What is it about?

Paulo Coehlo's novel, The Zahir, is about the disappearance of a wife, called Esther. The protagonist of the novel tends to call her Zahir because he thinks that her disappearance has created 'obsession' for him. Coelho has borrowed this idea of zahir from a short story by Jorge Luis Borges. The protagonist constantly thinks about her and, to some extent, he wants to get rid of her memory. Gradually, he finds some clues about her among some mystics or those associated with some form of mysticism. He finally decides to travel from Paris to Kazakhstan to find her. There are many flashbacks in the novel and the protagonist, who is Paulo Coelho himself, remembers his previous love for her and the discussions they had together. I have analyzed this novel by drawing on two philosophical concepts (immanence and univocity) taken from Gilles Deleuze, a postmodern French philosopher. I have explained these two concepts and have tried to interpret the concept of zahir and its antonym batin (which are familiar in Arabic and Islamic contexts) in a new (i.e. Deleuzian) way to interpret the central themes of zahir and batin in the novel and their relation to life and its meaning.

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Why is it important?

This essay provides insights into one of Paulo Coelho's major novels. It provides a new interpretation of two traditional as well as mystic Arabic-Islamic terms (i.e. zahir and batin) in the novel. The essay can contribute to studies on Paulo Coelho, literature, religion, and philosophy. It can also be considered as a contribution to Deleuzian studies as Deleuze was an atheist. In this way, the essay can be interesting to those who might be interested in applying Deleuzian (New Materialist) ideas to religious concepts and issues.

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