Illuminating the Inner World: Metaphorical Interpretations of Banu Mushtaq’s Heart Lamp

Abstract

Banu Mushtaq’s short story Heart Lamp unveils an allegory of human emotions, spiritual resilience, and the struggle between in-depth darkness and the quest for light. This paper offers a metaphorical interpretation of the lamp as both an object and a symbolism of the self. The lamp is a metaphor of  the heart which suggests  warmth, endurance, and delicacy by serving spirituality that reflects women’s suppressed voices and invisible pain. The story expresses traditions of mystical literature where light symbolizes divine presence, hope, and moral rebirth. At the same time, Mushtaq reworks on traditional associations to highlight gendered subjectivity by turning the lamp into a site of both empowerment and openness. Through a close reading, this study examines how metaphors of light, fire, and shadow reveals the complexities of identity, memory, and existential angst. The paper focuses on Heart Lamp which transcends its narrative simplicity and offers a meditation on inner life.  It reveals how metaphor not only enhances literary traditions but also illuminates the unheard melancholia of human beings.