Frankenstein in Baghdad

by

Ahmed Saadawi

The Senior Astrologer Character Analysis

This member of Brigadier Majid’s Tracking and Pursuit Department consults special cards in order to predict the future, and, in particular, to determine the whereabouts of the Whatsitsname, which he knows as “the One Who Has No Name.” The senior astrologer is obsessed with seeing the Whatsitsname’s face and, for this reason, is eager to arrest him. However, his conflict with the junior astrologer ultimately leads to the Department’s disintegration. This seemingly avoidable conflict suggests that fostering human cooperation in a professional context marked by competition can be difficult, despite the common goal that all employees share: to catch this mysterious criminal. The Whatsitsname, controlled from the outside by the junior astrologer, later kills the senior astrologer in a brutal way, cutting off the man’s hands with an ax.
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The Senior Astrologer Character Timeline in Frankenstein in Baghdad

The timeline below shows where the character The Senior Astrologer appears in Frankenstein in Baghdad. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 8: Secrets
Truth, Lies, and Storytelling Theme Icon
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At noon, Brigadier Majid receives a report from his senior astrologer that one thousand ghosts will assemble on the Imams Bridge, crossing the river Tigris. Brigadier... (full context)
Good vs. Evil Theme Icon
Power, Authority, and Social Divisions Theme Icon
...crimes perpetrated around the city, for which he believes a single criminal is responsible. His senior astrologer calls this man “the One Who Has No Name.” The Brigadier is skeptical about this... (full context)
Chapter 14: Tracking and Pursuit
Good vs. Evil Theme Icon
Power, Authority, and Social Divisions Theme Icon
Superstition and Religion Theme Icon
In his own room, the senior astrologer reflects on this same danger. He examines his playing cards. This allows him to get... (full context)
Superstition and Religion Theme Icon
When the senior astrologer leaves the room, the junior astrologer sits at the table with some magical sand. He... (full context)
Power, Authority, and Social Divisions Theme Icon
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The next morning, the senior astrologer gives Brigadier a document in which he predicts that a car bomb will explode that... (full context)
Chapter 17: The Explosion
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Early the next morning, the senior astrologer woke Brigadier Majid to tell him that the creature was currently sleeping in a house... (full context)
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Power, Authority, and Social Divisions Theme Icon
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When the Brigadier and the senior astrologer reached Bataween, the senior astrologer drew his cards and examined them. This allowed him to... (full context)
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Emerging unharmed, Brigadier Majid and the senior astrologer hurried back to their office. When the Brigadier realized that the junior astrologer was indeed... (full context)
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...because he realizes that disputes among his staff members are responsible for this disaster. The senior astrologer admits that the junior astrologer’s adversarial behavior toward him jeopardized the entire operation. Taken aback... (full context)
Power, Authority, and Social Divisions Theme Icon
Family, Friendship, and Home Theme Icon
Before heading out of the office, the senior astrologer cuts off his beard to look like an ordinary “religious man.” He changes into civilian... (full context)
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The senior astrologer leaves the car and enters a long, dark side street. Filled with gloom, he has... (full context)
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The senior astrologer tells the Whatsitsname that the junior astrologer is responsible for all of these events, since... (full context)
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The senior astrologer insists that he is no longer interested in arresting the criminal. However, the “Criminal Who... (full context)
Chapter 18: The Writer
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...mind of the Criminal Who Has No Name from afar in order to kill the senior astrologer . However, the junior astrologer emphasized that all he did was control the criminal, not... (full context)
Chapter 19: The Criminal
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...their visit to Brigadier Majid’s office was to investigate Mahmoud’s future. On this occasion, the senior astrologer revealed that, after effective training, the young journalist would become prime minister of Iraq in... (full context)