Fear is one of the strongest emotions experienced by humans, so much so that it plays a drastic role in influencing the actions of men and women. This concept appears frequently in Téa Obreht's The Tiger's Wife, a gripping account of the many strange events surrounding what is alleged to be the Balkan War. Fear cultivates superstition, manifesting itself in Obreht's novel through many characters' fear of the unknown and death. In The Tiger's Wife, superstition plays different roles for each individual, resulting from strong emotional reactions that are usually rooted in fear. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Superstition arises from a combination of ignorance and fear, and this fusion often evokes in people a powerful certainty about things they couldn't possibly know. Obreht illustrates the ease with which people come to rely on superstition frequently throughout the novel: "When confused by life's extremes – be they good or bad – people would first turn to superstition to find meaning, to mend events not connected in order to understand what was happening” (Obreht 312). This phenomenon appears regularly throughout Obreht's tale through parables such as that of the immortal man, the rumors about the tiger's wife, and the solution the family uses in Barba's vineyard. Ivan in an attempt to cure his illness. Each of these stories results directly from the characters' strong emotional reactions to their respective situations, driven primarily by fear. One of the most important mysteries in The Tiger's Wife fuels the unease and gossip of the inhabitants of Galina it is the relationship between the tiger and the deaf-mute girl, Luca's widow. The girl already appears in the eyes of the citizens as a sort of enigma when she arrives in Galina as Luka's new bride: as a young Muslim who suddenly appears with. the butcher after her disappearance from the village for several years, she is a source of intrigue to the audience, especially since she cannot offer any other information about herself due to her lack of communication skills. This trait immediately gives people cause for speculation, and as her stay there continues, the strange events that follow her only add to their intrigue and distrust. They are at the peak of their suspicions due to the arrival of the tiger in the forest of nearby Galina and the inexplicable death of her husband: “Isn't it clear? He made a deal with that tiger, didn't he? Luka probably did it herself, probably cut off his head in the night, left the body out for the tiger to eat... That devil gave her the strength to do it, and now she's his wife” (218) . The people of the village, already disturbed by the deaf-mute girl and frightened by the presence of the strange flaming-furred creature, are further alarmed by the tiger's affinity with the smokehouse where the girl lives, so they place all the blame on the tiger's wife. Although the deductions made about her are almost entirely based on assumptions, most of their conclusions are considered facts: “The people have seen it… The tiger is her husband. Every night he goes into his house and takes off his skin” (259). The finality of such assumptions results from people's desire to clarify the unknown; since they may not get answers to questions related to topics such as Luka's death and the relationship between the tiger and his wife, they create their own facts instead of waiting in vain to discover the truth. The superstitions that the villagers have regarding the tiger and hiswife are the direct result of their intense fear of the escaped big cat and their desire for answers about the enigmatic and increasingly dangerous deaf-mute girl. Superstition has arisen in communities for centuries from the psychological desire to clarify things that cannot be explained. Within each community, however, aspects of superstition are practiced in unique ways. Because the concerns upon which these irrationalities reflect differ for each person, in The Tiger's Wife superstition plays different roles for each of the highlighted characters. Elements of superstition sometimes offer permanent solutions to circumstances that may not be resolved, or provide a sense of security when there is truly no protection. The family who work as slaves in Barba Ivan's vineyard, digging up and searching for the bones of a relative who had not been properly buried, illustrate how boldly some cling to their superstitions in times of desperation. The patriarch of the sick family says with certainty that the cause of their illness is due to the relative's improper burial: "I have a body down here that has to come up so that my children can get well" (91). Probably, however, the long days of hard work under the scorching sun have only worsened their conditions, especially those of the children. As they dig, the family brings with them bags of herbs with supposed medicinal properties, but despite these precautions, the family's health continues to deteriorate. At one point, Natalia even sees two of the younger boys sharing a cigarette. The family seems to use the idea that they can heal themselves through their relative's remains instead of actually knowing how to take care of their own health, telling Natalia that "work has nothing to do with [the children's illness]" (89) . This superstition offers the family false comfort, an absolute way to correct their current situation when, in reality, their idea of ​​cause and effect is unlikely to be related. The family doesn't know how to take proper precautions to heal, so they put their faith in an illogical method that provides them with what they believe is a definitive way to cure their illness. The fear of a disease they don't understand leads them to form superstitions based on their ignorance. The rumors accumulated by the inhabitants of Galina about the tiger's wife demonstrate a case where superstition plays a specific role in the lives of those who believe in it. The citizens feel increasingly uncomfortable with the tiger's presence and his interaction with the deaf-mute girl. So, to cope, they shape new ideas that soon go from idle hypotheses to accepted facts. Whether or not these falsehoods are perpetuated as a means to distract from the danger they feel towards their carnivorous neighbor or to have someone to blame for their lack of safety, the superstitions they harbor serve as little comfort to the people of Galina. Once again, the role that superstition plays in the lives of Téa Obreht's characters is specific to their fears and offers a false escape from their own ignorance in times of desperation. Later, when Dariša the bear arrives and the town is relieved to have someone kill the tiger, fables of his previous actions emerge, describing several different stories including his being "raised by bears – or, he only ate bears” and that his “tremendous success as a hunter [came] from his ability to actually transform into a bear” (239). The inhabitants of Galina place so much faith in Dariša and the many falsehoods they tell about him because it makes them feel safe, as if they had a protector who appeared just when they needed them.