The University of Virginia Press

@2002 by the Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia

All rights

reserved

Printed in the united States of Amerrca on acid-free paper

First published 2002

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 21
Ltbrary of congress cataloging-in-publication Data
Vickroy, Laurie, 1954Trauma and survival in contempor ary fi,ction / Laurie Vickroy.

p. cm.
Includes bibliographic aI references and index.
ISBN 0-8139-2127-9 (alk. paper)
ISBN 0-8139-2128-7 (pbk. : alk. paper)
l.

American fiction-Women authors-History and criticism

. 2. Women and
literature-West Indies-History-20th century. 3. Women and literatureUnited States-History-20th century. 4. Psychological ftction-Women
authors-History and criticism. 5. Duras, Marguerite-Knowledge-Psychology.
6. African American women in literature. 7, West Indian Americans in literature.
8. Psychic trauma in literature. 9. Abused women in literature. I. Title.
PS374.P7 V53 2002

813' .509353

-dc}l
200200s398

PREFACE

f his book explores how contemporary fiction narrarives repre- \

L.ntg"rrma, defined as a response to events so overwhelmingly i

intense that they impair normal emotional or cognitive responses and f

bring lasting psychological disruption )Vhy consider a topic that is not /

only discomforting but might {utilely immerse us in a quagmire of'

victimization? This becomes a compelling and potentially {ar-reaching
topic, however, if we consider how trauma literature poses a number
of thought-provoking questions and dilemmas for writers and readers,
ranging {rom the potentially ethical function of literature, fto reconsidering our cultural assumptions about identity, relationality, and intentionality, to what contingencies determine how or if individuals
survive the devastations causing t.rrr-")fhis study identifies these
questions and assumptions by investigating t_he comp.l-ex in-tgl,{-C14_t1_ll-+-:
.+ttt j_e!J5:.n_q!r-e-.a9c.19_c3_L!_lle!..{,e-_m"a11dg-311{*igipate.personalrelations portrayed in this type of fiction and how these portrayals direct
a#

'.;..'
difficult
material to readers.
My previous studies on transferential relationships between mothers and daughters in the writings of Marguerite Duras and Toni Morrison led me to the larger and more complex question of trauma in their
work. Because my study began with these two writers, the concerns I
absorbed from them suggested to me the great import of considering
trauma, how it can be represented, and its relationship to social and cul-

PREFACE

have been concerned with

tural life. The works of these two authors
'how trauma helps to reveal the constitution of identity' the dynamics
affected by the social environof power, ancl how intimate bonds are
on Morrison and Duras
ment and its guiding ideologies' My emphasis
as writers' their large
throughout this study "fl""t' their eminence
variety of traumatic elements
bodies o{ work, and the groundbreaking
as they take on forces of social
and narrative techniques in their texts
role of mothering in adversity' I
oppression and demystify the complex
writers shared Duras's and
discovered that many other contemporary
to write about the revenant
Morrison's concerns and also felt the need
war veterans or incest surquality of past traumas-whether those oi
vivors,ortheracialtraumaofslavery.Theseissuesremainpersonally
later' A11 o{ these writers are
and culturally aiive years, even decades
and psychological awareness
committed to bringing social, historical'

to readers.

of traumatic
In order to heip me understancl the many complexities
that
method
an interpretive
situations in these works, I have adopted
approaches' Accessing
combines litetary, cultural, and psychologicai
theories has illuminated
postcolonial, trauma, and object relations
that shape relationships'
the cultural aspects of traumatic experience

identityformation,andthepossibilitiesforarticulatingsuchexperi.
fiction'

issues suggested by this

ence, helping me to better discern the
responses to this cenTrauma narratives/ I contend, areipersonalized
tury'semergingawarenessofthecatastrophiceffectso{wars'povert'
individual psyche' ifhey highcolonization, and domestic abuse on the
the lives and voices of
light postcolonial concerns with rearticulating

of the autonomous submarginal people, rejecting Western conceptions

social reject and describing the complex negotiations of multicultural
as
trauma
see
study
in this
lations. The writers and theorists discussed
deo{
or oppression' as the ultimate cost
an indicator of social iniustice

'

structive sociocultural institutions'

to the ways
My approach also attempts to make readers sensitive
writers' developtrauma can be mani{ested in narrative; contemporary
for conveying characters'
ment of formai techniques has been crucial
inDuras and Morrison have most remarkably

traumatic experience'

mem-

, ..rt"r",.d,dissociative symptoms and fragmented identity and read

' oryinto their narrative voices' After listening to Larry Heinemann
with the innovative uses
{rom Paco's Story, Iwas immediately struck

o{ narrr
protagc

have ct

Virgini
as

rintel

tive

an

tempol

stylisti
as well
and ha
fenses

Also el
transla

with ti
invoke
ment,''
enable

to sent

My
who b,
develo

Edwidl
mann,

throug

the l9i
porary
writers

rativrz

to

ack

readers

and to

timoni

Iamrr
leave

Why t'
tions, '

to con
huge

PREFACE
rs have been concerned

o{ narrative he employed to convey the ways that the past haunts his
protagonist. Further reading made me reafize that such innovations
have charact ertzedfictionalizing tlauma in this century' Precursors like
virginia woolf andlerzy Kosinski employed moclernist techniques such
asrintefior monologues and surrealism,'ancl the fragmentation o{ narrative and identity common to the postmodern periocl gave more contemporary writers other means to express tlaumatic experience. These

with

ion o{ identitY, thc dYnamics

Tected bY thc social environhasis on Morrison and Duras

writets, their large

variety of traumatic elements
of social
s they take on forces
I
rle o{ mothering in adversitY'
i.nence as

ry writers shared Duras's and

:d to write about the revenant
of war veterans or i'ncest sur'hese issues remain PersonallY
later. A11 of these writers are
i, and psYcholo.gical awareness
rany comPlexities of traumatic

:d an interPretive method that

rlogical aPProaches' Accessing
ions theories has illuminated
ience that shaPe relationshiPs'
:s for articulating such exPeri-

this fiction'
onalized responses to this cen,ssues suggested bY

trophic efiects of wars, Poverty'

TheY high,e individual PsYche'
of
culating the lives and voices
subleptions of the autonomous
reations of multicultural social
rssed in this studY see
rssion, as the

trauma

x1

as

ultimate cost of de-

to the waYs
writers' develoP, contemporarY

ke readers sensitive

:rucial for conveYing characters'

inrrison have most remarkablY
memd fragmented identitY and
read
stening to LarrY Heinemann
uses
' struck with the innovative

stylistic innovations have reflected our understanding of consciousness

as well as our capacity to imagine the human psyche in all its facets,
and have proved effective in approximating ior readers the psychic de{enses that pose obstacles to narrating and recovering from trauma.
Also examined here is how writers respond to the difficult challenge of
transiating traumatic experience to readers while not iosing connection
with the fearful and painful aspects of this experience. Thus they try to
invoke in readers what Do.minick LaCapra telms."empathic unscttlement,,, or empathy without overidentification with victims) which can
enable readers to work through problems oI mourn rather than merely
to sentimentalize victims lWtiting

40-4i).

My choice of writers besides Morrison and Duras was based on those

who best exemplify the concerns outlined above and who have also
developed fi.ctionai techniques to express those concerns; they include

Edwidge Danticat, lamaica Kincaid, Dorothy Ailison, Larry Heinemann, and Pat Barker. Though Duras's careel spans from the 1940s
through the 1990s, her narrative innovations tn The Lover, a text {rom
the 1980s, mark a new shift in her work and link her with the contemporary period. Except for Morrison, Duras, and Allison/ most o{ these
writers have received little oI no attention from the perspective of natrativizing trauma. I have narrowed this study to a particular time period

to acknowledge a general cultural knowledge of trauma familiar to

readers, and for practical considerations of reasonable length and {ocus,

with other studies. Jhgush I acknowiedge the testimonial and therapeutic value of other literary texts cover|ng trauma/
I am more concerned with the problematic natule of reconstructions. I

and to avoid overlap

leave out worthy and important works {such as Maya Angelou's l Know
why the caged BturL sings) that do not yet emphasize formal innova-

tions, testimonial influences/ or the symptoms and defenses common

to conflicted traumatic memory. sirrrilariy, I have not focused on the
huge area of Holocaust literature,

with its own unique complexities,

Xii

PREFACE

Nevcrthcless'
focus cli nr-lrrleror'ls stuclies'
which iras alreadl' been the
to thccssential
bccn
the Holociltist have
scirol:rrship :lnd fiction abotit

aspccts ot t
cr-rltural

i sc:

terprctetic)

crt"izingabouttraumaanclitscffectsl'ar'rrrenceLanger'sHttlttcttustT'esand
Delbo's Attschwttz nncl Af tet'
Charlotte
Limonjes'rn-p

marylorrgi
u:ited oncs

C1:rr.rcie

Lit crurure:

"t'oi"l'r

lT

hale been ill';f11bie f or

l,anzmann's a"t"*"t"'y
p"tttl'lllt-l:-tl:*"*
represent the efiects "i
me in consiclering how to
oral
rvell :rs the iurpact of survivclrs'
ory, ielentity, o,ta "f"'io"'n*' "'
ir:rgthe
to convey
fi

Shtt.dh

narratives' which help

testimtlnies on thc
rtsscss[rcnts tli thc
"""t-'^
thoi-rght. Likewise, rcccnt
and
identity
of
mcnt'tion
the c"ontingencrcs
of slave ry help tcl elr'iciclate
conciitrotrs and erftermath
by slaves ancl fonner
and resistance engageil in
and mcthocls clf survival
chronicles
p"tt"ttu'-t'' study S-Liver y artd srtr:iol Death
slaves. Crtranclo
ils wcll as
clestructions wrought l-ry slavery
the pcrsonal ancl collectivc
tlse of :rlithority I i - 14)'
thc socioctllttt'"I n"t1 psychcllogical
tcstimt'nio
lloris Sommer's cxaninatitlns of
John Beveri"U'' ""t1
imp:rct ot tcsinform my iliscr-rssion of tire
Itestimoniai """"i;tl;;o
attachcs ttr
The charactcli'stics Bevcrley
tirnony on trzrlura nirrratives'

testimonioarcalsotl-'"*"t"'itticoithenarr:ltiveapproachesclftnany
traunanarrativcs:"atriter:rrysimr"rlacrurltl{oralnarriltivc"thatseeks
a
of liveil experiencc, ancl exprcsses
to crcate a trutl-r "tt."r, ^ {eeling
i11threrugh il reprcse*tativc
"proble'rati. .ott"tiiitt 'ottnt 'i"'*tion"
texts h:rs
notion of resistant tcstitrrorlial

clividual i94-951' Sotlmcr's

be:rringontraumzlnarrativcsinitsasscrticlnth:rttexttialcontelxts:rnd
uray bc gtps iu
and make them reaiize there
ucaning
",'-' "lttt1" '"aclers
Tiris is espccially trtLe tl{ trai-lma
interptetaticln and unclerstancling
of ch:lrzrcters
clrawn into thc perspectivcs
nartativcs, where ""tt"t' ;rre
wlroarenotintoucbwiththetlaumaticpaststiratdrivctheirbcliavior.
thc aclin traurna lrteraturc involves
Thc purpose of such :rn approach
unclerstand thc
the autholwants reaclers to
tf-"t
consicleratio"
cJi.tional
n-iemotics'
ciifficulty o{ living wlth tratlmatic

Ihavefocusecl*ntto"thccultural'stlciopolitic:rfanclpsvchologiczrlcauscsan.lcontextsoftratrmabecausell-;elievetlrattraur-nanarraliteratr-rrc'
asptlcts' Thc psycho:rnalytical
tives prirnarily focus on thesc
ttaumrrtic

ttaunta'
on the originary natr'lre of
inclucli.ng Frcucl's theories
so on' werc inthe defenses lt iiriti:rtes' ancl
,.rcsponses/ its belatedness'
irncl snbtrauma' But becausc Freucl's
portant lrzrses for conceptualizing
SeqLlentpsychoanalyticstuclieshavenotfocuseclonthcpsyclrtlctrlttrral

tural mytl.t

discr-rss

cJ

seclllcnces
ancl othcr

writers in

tl-rcy signi

lLtre: lniui

tions abor
proviclc si

ralivcs

av,

th.e effect

which oit
Aftcr t

antl ti-ic I'r

maiirrng i

oi thc tra
aspccts ti

th
cspccialil

:rr11011g

;cctivitY

cirtr dev:tr
lchapter
spollses

trautla,

rvottutls,
,.rnspcak:
(c1'raptcr

gcncrirtic

copir-ig nl

of a cicstt

toric:rl tr

PREFACE .riii
umerous stLldies. Ncverthclcss,
raust have bcen essential to thcLwrence Langer's Holctcttust Tes-

:lbo's Auschwjlz and After' antl

Shoah have bcen inviiluablcr for

posttrlurttlt ic tnelnas the impact tlf survivors' otal

which helP to convey the irag.ewise, rccent assessments o{ the
e effects of

lp to elucidatc t1-rc contingencies

: engagecl in bY siaves ancl formcr
ety attd Social Death chronicles
ns wrought bY slaverY ag

well

as

oi authoritY {l-1a).
sr's exatninations of tcstimtlnio
r cliscussion oi the impact of tesaracteristics Beverl.cy attaches to
he narrltive approlchcs of tnatty
re

:rum of oral narr:rtive" that seeks

.ivcd experience, ancl expresses zr

oll" throtlgh c reprcse lltat ivc inrf resistant testimonial texts has
isertion that tertual contexts zrncl
them realize there maY be gaPs in
'his is especlallY true o{ traurra
nto the perspectives of chelracters
Ltlc pasts that drive thejr behavior'
traLrma literature involves thc acl)r wants readers to uncierstand the
emories.

ral, sociopolitical, ancl psychologi:cause I believe that traLlma narraThe psychoanalytical litcrattlrc,
;inlrv natttrc o{ trlttnre, treuln:rtic
s.

;cs

it initictcs, lnd

so on, wcrc itn-

,.r*n. B.tt because Freucl's ancl subnot focusecl on the psychocultr'Lral

aspects of trauma, I have turned to morc psychological, huirranistic, and

cultural/sclciohistorical theorists of trauma as rrrore rclcv:rnt to nry in-

terprctations since thc literary terts themselvcs do not focus on primary/origin:rry trallmas as much as on socially inclucecl and perpetuatecl oncs. Much as Kaii Tal argues in.Wotlds of

Httrt: Reacling the

Litertttures of Truumo,I value literatures of trauma that challenge cultural myths alrout tr:lumatic experience. I belicvc the traurt-t:t narrativcs
I discuss c1o this by uncovering slrpprcssed personal historics and consequences to traumatic events. Whereas Tal focuses so1c1y on literary
and other narratives rclatcd by actual survlvors of trauma, not all of the
writers in my study have experiencccl cxtreme trauma, or ii they have,
they significantly fictionahze it. Stlry.' F4ryqll's Post-Trnurnatic Culture: Iniury ond Interpretation jn the. I'lineties raises important questions about the value o{ cultr-rral representations of traLuna and if they
provide simplistic solutions or easy consolations. Truthful trauma narrJtivc5 lv,,id tltis by otten criritlLring oppressivc furccs rtntl qr"rcstioning
the eifectiveness and costs of the survival tactics victirns ernpioy,
which often dirninish their lives significantly.
After establishing the history and theoretical approachcs to trauma
and the ways of narrating it in thc first chapter, I have divided the remaining chapters zrccording to topics baseci upon the primary concerns
of the trauma literaturc, particularly the'difierent social ancl personal
aspects that help to create and allow survlval o{ traum:r. Preetninent
among these concerns arc the impact of tr:ruma within farnily relations,
especially between mothers and chilclren, as this relation cleiincs subjcctlvity and carrying on behaviors ichapter 2J; the extent that trauma
can devastate inclivicluals :rnd prcclude their own and others' futures
(chapter 3); the resourcciul if contingent :rnd restricting survival rcsponscs to trauma {chapter zt); and the historicai-cultural origins oi
trauma, how representativc characters exemplify social conflicts and
wouncls, and how the individual body becornes a historical marker to
unspeakable experiencc but also a rnarker ior potential change if hcaled
(chaptcr 5)..The cluestion of legacy pertains throughout: What cloes one
gcnrretio|r fass on tu ilnothcrl Do the y pass r)tl upprr:ssiotr, cottsttictivc
coping mechanisms, or methods of resistance? What is the consequcncc
oi a destructive past to both inclividtLals and the cuiturc at large if his-

torical traumas are not suificiently :rcknowleclged or sr,rbmitted to

xiv

PREFACE

process? Or is there even a

working-through or critical reevaluation
damaged or destroyed by unrelenting
possibility of legacy if i"-'fi"' ute

oppression or disPossesslong 'P

to tl

thor

fect

the history and theorizing on

This study begl"s by e{amining
within
in order to provide readers a context
trauma in the past 140 years
at
issues
to the narratives and the
which to understand "'y "pp'o"ch
is defined as a psychological and
stake with regard t" t;;;;.Trauma
influence on

and

psyof traumatic experience' The

the contexts, '""t'ity, ""d reception
important references for understanding
chocultural investigations are
culturally dominant views of identity
how trauma narratives criticlue
ref-

(1e

and marginality and

in
'""" '*nn'ession
traumatic processes are approximated
erences also help locate where
I contend' go beyond presenting
narrative elements' Trauma narratives/
characterizationi they also incorporate
trauma as subject matter or in
of trauma within the conthe rhythms/ processes, and uncertainties
the aspects of
of these works' I then outline
sciousness nnd

ofr

traumaticresponseprominentinthenarrativesandthenarrativestratforms the basis

these responses' This section
egies used to approximate
chapters'
iJ. -1, textual analysis in succeeding
and their psychological impact
In chapter Z, traunatrzing contexts
facfocus on mothers and daughters
are examined through writers'
I
preiudice'
exploitation' class' and race
ing obstacle, of po""?'v, sexual
subiecdepictions make explicit the
investigate how these fictional
formulations
of postcolonial theorists'
tive and relational complexities
Ashis
colonization {e'g'' Ftantz Flnon'
of the psychologic"l "ff""t' of
and
gh^bh', u"d Stt'"'t Hall)' Morri son's Beloved 11987\
Nandy, Homi
Eves'
(1950)' and Danticat's Breath'
Sula 1L973\, Ou'u"l''-iiln Sea Wall
a cruthe mother/child bond provides
Memory (f Sg+) iffustrait ho*
forces
social
of
to understand the impact
cial affective locus for readers
onconsciousnessandtheinteractionsnecessaryforindividualdevel.
such as
relations and feminist theorists
opment/ as argued by object
D' W'
and
Nu""y Chodorow' Patricia Hill Collins'
|essica Beniamin,

an

socioculturat pf,"to-*a,

and culture wields a significant

o{ traumatic

*""*-l::se

't"'"ttt'es

Winnicott.

^ r-^-. issues rn
trauma texts demonstrate key
.

Chapter 3 focuses on how

that is' the losses attending sethe aftermath of traumatic experience;
individual and
denying trauma' both to the
vere trauma and the costs of

Poil

plo:

ent

Du
iso.

Ira7

res

Mr

LO

vir

th:
of
AS

bu

rel

ea

ca

cc

th

Br

cl

\A

cl

ri

ci

1t

PREFACE xv

n process? Or is there even a

unrelenting
;ed or destroYed bY
he history and theorizing on
rovide readers a context within
he narratives and the issues at
defined as a PsYchological and
rields a significant influence on

traumatic exPerience. The PsYrt references for understanding

lly dominant views of identitY

of traumatic events. These refc processes are aPProximated in
I contend, go beYond Presenting
erizattoni theY also incorPorate
ties of trauma within the conks.

I then outline the asPects of

rnatives and the narative stratses. This section forms the basis
hapters.
and their psYchological imPact

on mothers and daughters facation, class, and race Prejudice' I

lions make exPlicit the subjectcolonial theorists' {ormulations

:ation (e.g., Ftantz lanon, Ashis

and
). Morrison's Beloved {1987)
EYes,
Breath,
i0), and Danticat's
rther/child bond Provides a crurstand the imPact of social {orces
s necessary

s and

{or individual devel-

feminist theorists such

as

D'

W'

Patricia

Hill

Collins, and

texts demonstrate keY issues in

:; that is, the losses attending serauma/ both to the

individual and

to the community. I consider how these texts struggle to give voice to

those silenced by oppression and how they represent the traumatic effects o{ subjugation in the way their protagonists barry both personal
and collective histories within ,6.tn.'ffraumatized children become
poignant metaphors and individualized examples of the neglect, exploitation, disempowerment, and disavowal of communities, or even
entire cultures.'.Morrison's The Bluest Eye ll97ol and lazz 11992), and
Duras's The Vice-Consul (19651 and The Ravishing of LoI V. Stein

ll954l portray characters' struggles to survive despite being impaired by

isolation and by static and repetitive actions and memories. Trauma
narratives also recognize the significant role of defenses in determining
responses to abuse or neglect that can aid self-creation in the absence
o{ adequate nurturance.

Chapter 4 examines how Kincaid's The Autobiography of My

Mother 11996l, Duras's The Lover (1984), and Ailison's Bastard out of
Carolina 11992) present more elaborated and functional ways o{ surviving. The protagonist narrators generate a constructive narcissism
that helps them replace the mother's nurturing gaze with their own,
and they compensate for their isolation with emotional substitutions
o{ sexual activity or fantasy at times. These protagonists are created
as storytellers who use narratives in attempting to overcome abuse,
but their impaired symbolization processes indicate how traumatic
repetitions and emotional stasis distort their creative and relational
capacities.

Chapter

analyzes works

by three writers that embody signifi-

living the personal

consequences of this history. Wider cultural traumas are contained in
the psychological and physical experiences of a few characters. In Pat
Barker's Regeneration ll99l-95) trilogy, British cultural crises around
class, homosexuality, and war are embodied in the experiences of a
World War I soldier named Prior. In Toni Morrison's Beloved, the title
character coalesces many traumatic aspects of slavery: ancestors/ experience of the Middle Passage, traumatic memory, emotional and physical suffering, lost family connections, and so {orth. Similarly, Lauy
Heinemann's Paco's Story 11986) expresses the collective traumatic
legacies o{ the Vietnam War through the thoughts and experiences of
his shattered protagonist. These narratives do not posit full reconstruc-

cant traumatic historical events through individuals

XVi

:t

I
',.1,
"t

PREFACE

between indithe dynamic relationship

tion, but rather they elaborate
and personalize
and attempt to redefine
memory
collective
and
vidual
events'
of traumatic historical
readers' consciousness
dilemmas
o'oerwh"i-ing psychosocial
Can trauma n"tt"" *J"
them?-l:-:l-::"-n'
readers bv personalizinS
emoavailable to individual
try to'make readers expedence
and
this, I argue, by using rrafiattveto
individual voices and memories'
i"t*"Aacy'
intimacy
tional
succeed? This investi""a
the characters' Do they
the sensory,t'no"'"' of
fiction that
works as examples of ethical
gation aims to position these
It also atand historical trauma'
p""o"a
absorb
try to
'""d"';'';;;this fiction is an important contribution to a
tempts to explain why
quandaries
of comple" p'y"hoto"ial
t"'d""tu"di"g
public
necessary
forms'
all in more or less disguised
that continu" to i'u""i tts

ACI

t;

cier

rea(

mal
pea

volr

Eve

cat:.

pat

ob

ora

wa

ass

thz

tol

his

ga1

an

tit

hu

al'