Analytical Examination of the Effects of Black Romanticism in the Novel of Brid Al-Leil (The Night Mail)

Black Romanticism is a literary genre that has emerged as an artistic movement shaped by modernity, emphasizing emotion and imagination. Brid al-Leil is the Arabic Booker Prize-winning novel by Hoda Barakat, conveys the author's complex and bewildered thoughts. It reflects many recurring themes of Black Romanticism, including violence, loneliness and isolation, materialism, displacement, fear and terror, identity crises, and contemplations of death. Using a descriptive-analytical approach, this research investigates the various manifestations of Black Romanticism in the fictional literature of Arab immigrants. The findings indicate that the most significant elements of Black literature in the novel of Brid Al-Leil (The Night Mail) are the result of the direct and indirect colonization of Arab lands, leading to the collapse of intellectual, moral, and spiritual well-being, as well as the disintegration of immigrants' thoughts. Individual disappointment and mental helplessness, a worldview filled with despair and hopelessness, and the harsh environmental conditions of living far from one’s homeland have contributed to the formation of the pessimistic perspective and dark narrative style in Hoda Barakat’s novel Brid Al-Leil.
Introduction:
Black Romanticism represents an intense and extreme form of the Romantic movement. While it shares the fundamental elements of Romanticism, its distinctive traits set it apart through a deeper, darker intensity. Among its defining characteristics are naturalism taken to the point of dissolution and transformation, detailed depictions of natural landscapes, the creation of spaces inhabited by ghosts and dreadful spirits, an obsession with death, profound melancholy and despair, violent and nightmarish atmospheres, and a focus on erotic, sinful, and even satanic dimensions. In contrast to Classicism—which is grounded in reason and intellectual order—Black Romanticism is founded on passion, imagination, and personal emotion, embodying a deeply individual and subjective mode of perception. Its philosophy emphasizes the relativity of beauty and art, the superiority of emotion over intellect, the unity and harmony of artistic creation, and liberation from constraints in favor of personal feeling. The core foundation of Black literature remains Romanticism, a school with a vast and ancient presence throughout world literature. However, its revival as a distinct literary and artistic movement, characterized by new and intensified features, emerged in the modern era (Ahmadi, 1994, p. 33). In the twentieth century, the predominant pessimistic tendencies in modern Arabic literature were shaped both by the Palestinian tragedy and the successive defeats of Arabs by Israel, which led to the direct or indirect colonization of most Arab countries, as well as by the global diffusion of psychological and philosophical doctrines espoused by thinkers such as Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Camus, Kafka, Sartre, and others. These influences significantly affected Arab writers and cast a profound shadow over their narratives (Najafi, 2020, p. 84). Each historical period thus presents a distinctive type of literature that reflects its corresponding religious, political, social, and economic functions. During times of catastrophic upheaval, the resulting mental and moral disarray undermines the collective stability of thought, leading to fragmentation of ideology and consciousness. Furthermore, a society’s rapid transition from closed to open environments, or from tradition to modernity, brings about fundamental cultural and moral transformations that profoundly impact its art, literature, and philosophy. When such transformations are negative and tragic, Black literature emerges with its characteristic pessimistic tone.
The novel Brid al-Leil, authored by the Lebanese emigre writer Huda Barakat, embodies this dark vision. Her language echoes the silent cries of the oppressed, reflecting the painful struggle of her people trapped in the cruel vortex of the modern world. The story articulates social anxiety and mirrors many elements of Black Romanticism—migration, displacement, poverty, nihilism, helplessness, and death—experienced by the people of Arab lands. It is important to note that numerous characteristics and components have been attributed to Black Romanticism across various critical sources; however, the present study focuses specifically on the most recurrent and dominant motifs of this movement as represented in Brid al-Leil.
Methodology:
This study employs a qualitative descriptive-analytical method grounded in literary sociology and the stylistic framework of Black Romanticism. The analysis explores how Huda Barakat’s Brid Al-Leil reflects the social realities of both resident and migrant Lebanese communities, portraying displacement, alienation, despair, and death as dominant motifs derived from modern human anxieties. Textual passages are examined through a conceptual lens that connects the author’s dual experience—living as a Lebanese and as an Arab immigrant in Western countries—to the realistic and symbolic representation of social conditions. Literature is regarded here as a cultural institution that reveals hidden ideologies and power structures; therefore, the presence of Black Romanticism elements in Brid Al-Leil, shaped by the writer’s fragmented mind and personal-social concerns, is analyzed to uncover the deep sociocultural and aesthetic layers underlying the narrative.
Results and Discussion:
The findings of this study on Brid Al-Leil reveal that the novel epitomizes the essence of Black Romanticism through its epistolary form, where correspondence serves to express the inner suffering and emotional decay of colonized and displaced individuals. The letters reflect the profound anguish of Arab migrants, exposing psychological, moral, and spiritual fragmentation caused by direct or indirect colonization of Arab lands. The excessive focus on erotic and sinful love, symbolic of moral corruption and emotional chaos, depicts a Western attempt to normalize moral looseness within Eastern sensibilities. Loneliness and escapism become defining forces as characters retreat into isolation, unable to confront the cruelty of modern life. Themes of fear, horror, and death dominate the narrative, mirroring the colonial brutality imposed upon the Arab world and the void of meaning haunting modern existence. Ultimately, Brid Al-Leil captures the collective despair of a generation suffocated by oppression, loss of identity, and moral disorientation—embodying the aesthetic and ideological depth of Black Romanticism in contemporary Arabic fiction.
This research was conducted through objective literary analysis of published textual sources. No human participants, personal data, or experimental interventions were involved. All citations and translations were accurately attributed to their original authors and sources in accordance with academic integrity standards. The author declares that no external funding, institutional support, or grant was received for the completion of this research. The study was self-funded and independently prepared. The author affirms that there are no conflicts of interest regarding the authorship or publication of this article. All analyses and interpretations represent impartial academic judgment based on textual and theoretical evidence.
Conclusion:
This study explores the manifestations of Black Romanticism in Huda Barakat’s novel Brid Al-Leil, emphasizing its role as a literary reflection of social, psychological, and moral crises within modern Arab society. Using a descriptive-analytical framework, the research identifies recurring motifs that reveal the author’s vision of alienation, loss of identity, and existential despair stemming from colonial and migratory experiences.
The novel incorporates multiple elements of Black Romanticism, including violence against women, moral decay, the legitimization of ideological taboos, lack of freedom, sexual colonization, alienation, identity crises, wandering, helplessness, nihilism, poverty, and a preoccupation with death—all consequences of Eastern migration to Western lands and the lingering effects of postcolonial domination. Barakat reveals a grim social landscape through depictions of erotic excess and “demonic love,” illustrating moral corruption and the commodification of femininity. Gender exploitation and violence demonstrate how the subordination of women becomes an ideological tool of modern colonial power, extending beyond physical harm to psychological oppression.
The analysis further highlights the emergence of loneliness, materialism, and spiritual emptiness as indicators of an existential crisis. The mother figure embodies both symbolic and political dimensions, representing the homeland that nurtures only those who serve personal interests. Acceptance of Western taboos, particularly concerning sexuality and identity, symbolizes the forced adaptation of Eastern migrants to Western norms. Barakat’s narrative thus encapsulates the fear, displacement, and ideological conflict experienced by the modern Arab individual caught between cultural collapse and the illusion of freedom.
Through the motifs of terror, exile, and fragmented identity, Brid Al-Leil exposes the hidden violence of cultural hegemony, revealing the subtle mechanisms of consent and submission described by Gramsci’s concept of “soft domination.” The novel concludes with overtly tragic visions—murder, despair, death, and emotional devastation—depicting the Arab self in crisis under modern Western colonialism. Ultimately, Barakat’s work stands as a testament to the destructive interplay between migration, modernity, and lost identity, reflecting the dark aesthetics and critical spirit of Black Romanticism within contemporary Arabic literature.