Manifestations of Polyphony in the Novel "The Serpent's Embrace" by Azzedine Djellaoudji

Abstract

Ezzedine Djellaoudji's novel "The Embrace of the Serpents" is an epic narrative that
chronicles the French invasion of Algeria in 1830, alongside internal and external
resistance under the rule of the Ottoman Regency. The novel employs Bakhtin's
polyphony technique to present multiple voices—those of the Dey Hussein, Emir
Abdelkader, Shamkha, the French generals, and others—each reflecting a distinct
ideological and historical position. This study, grounded in a genetic structuralist
approach, analyses the significance of these voices and how they interact to construct a
complex, multi-layered vision of a pivotal historical era. The findings reveal that
Djellaoudji's use of polyphony serves not only as a narrative strategy but as a means of
recovering wounded collective memory, deconstructing colonial discourse, and
affirming the complexity of Algerian identity.