Literary Representation of Animal Captivity: Reading Hannah’s Dream through Foucauldian Lens

Zoos are spaces for human–animal engagement; they are believed to provide people with limited exposure to the wilderness, a glimpse of the innate splendour of the animal kingdom. However, questions arise regarding the degree to which animals are actually visible in these environments. This prompts us to reflect on a crucial query: can a confined urban animal, separated from its natural environment, truly provide an understanding of a species’ natural state while preserving their subjectivity? Randy Malamud, Bob Mullan, and Garry Marvin provide critical evaluations of how captive animals are portrayed in zoos and also examine the presence of zoo culture in urban societies. Observing animals passively in a zoo reduces them to mere exhibits for entertainment purposes, rather than allowing us to truly appreciate them for what they are. This paper uses Foucault’s concept of biopower to interpret Diane Hammond’s novel Hannah’s Dream as a zoo narrative, wherein Hannah is positioned as a recipient of biopower that shapes her sense of self in dual roles: that of a companion animal and a zoo animal. The central inquiry revolves around exploring how Hannah’s identity is constructed by the anthropocentric discourse of dominance and control over animals.