Ersöz, Nusret2024-10-292024-10-2920212147-088Xhttps://doi.org/10.20304/humanitas.779456https://search.trdizin.gov.tr/tr/yayin/detay/425528https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11776/12907Nostalgia etymologically corresponds to a longing for returning to a euphoric place ortime in past. In some cases (i.e. post-traumatic states), the acuteness of nostalgicfeelings is pathologically aggravated so as to lead individual to some belligerent andeven delinquent conducts. This sort of a ‘malignant’ nostalgia is delineated by PatrickMcCabe, a pre-eminent contemporary Irish novelist, in his most acclaimed novel, TheButcher Boy (1992). McCabe’s protagonist, the schoolboy Francie Brady, undergoes aseries of traumatic incidents triggered by his dysfunctional family, hypocritical andself-centered milieu and the corrupt public institutions. This paper, suggesting thatnostalgia becomes a pathology in Francie’s case, discusses the ways in which Francie,being overcome with a pathetic obsession to bring the past back, loses his touch withthe reality of the present.. This paper also argues that the protagonist’s domestic senseof nostalgia represents a longing for reattaining traditional Irish identity.en10.20304/humanitas.779456info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessArticle917244255425528