Traumatic Memories in Yvonne Vera’s Select Novels

Abstract

The word ‘trauma’ an ancient Greek word, that refers to a physical injury that required nothing more than medical attention. Later on, in the nineteenth century, the term took a shift in meaning that is now primarily used to address the emotional wounds in the minds of victims under catastrophic or painful situations. In Colin Davis and Hanna Meretoja’s article, they refer to trauma as “…psychological injury, lasting damage done to individuals or communities by tragic events or severe distress” (1). The victims, survivors and witnesses of any kind of traumatic experiences feel responsible for those who are not directly affected. These affected individuals raise issues of collective responsibility to find means to restrict the past injustice from finding space in the present or future. One important forum through which this affected group addresses traumatic issues is through literature. It is literature that serves as a platform for the victims to find a solution for the scar left behind by trauma. Martina Kopf opines, “During the past ten years the concept of trauma has been taken up more and more in cultural and literary studies, where it serves as an analytical tool for the hermeneutics of narratives of violence and loss”