Abstract

The study aims at examining the social context that negatively affects interracial marriage in Jamal Mahjoub’s “Travelling with Djinns.” Specifically, the study focuses on family members including children, parents, in-laws, and siblings, and their role in augmenting marital dissatisfaction. The continuous conflict between the couple, Yasin and Ellen, affects and is affected by family members who are unable to accept cultural differences. Moreover, the study investigates how the couple’s education and financial status influence their marriage. Mahjoub represents cross-cultural marriage as a site where socio-economic, cultural, political, and even historical differences converge. His depiction of Yasin and Ellen’s marriage is realistic and genuine since the novel meticulously chronicles the ups and downs of their cross-cultural marriage and how the couple attempt, albeit futilely, to rescue it and keep it alive.