Edward Said’s Orientalism And The Representation Of Ancient Egypt In Western Literature

Abstract

This paper examines the representation of Ancient Egypt in Western literature through the lens of Edward Said’s theory of Orientalism. Egypt is a civilization renowned for its scientific, architectural, and spiritual achievements. However Western literary portrayals have frequently reduced it to a land of magic, curses, and supernatural danger. These misrepresentations reflect a deeper colonial ideology that uses literature to project the East as culturally inferior and intellectually stagnant. This research work is the analysis of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Lot No. 249 (19th century), Bram Stoker’s The Jewel of Seven Stars (20th century), and Rick Riordan’s The Kane Chronicles (21st century) from the perspective of Edward Said’s Orientalism. These books are strategically selected from three different literary periods—the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries—to examine whether the Western perspective on Egypt has shifted across time. The primary analytical tool employed in this study is Catherine Belsey's model of textual analysis, which emphasizes the close reading of literary texts to uncover embedded ideological patterns and assumptions.  The analysis reveals how these works construct Egypt as the exotic and irrational “Other”—a land frozen in time, rich in spectacle but stripped of historical truth. Mummies are portrayed as monstrous threats, ancient queens as dark forces, and deities as simplified magical beings. The research findings indicate that even modern literature, while more diverse in form, often reinforces Orientalist themes. Egypt is consistently depicted as voiceless, mystical, and dangerous, existing only to serve Western narratives. This study concludes with a call for more accurate, respectful, and historically informed portrayals of Ancient Egypt in literature