Å fortelle gjennom traumer
Telling through trauma. Trauma representation in Marguerite Duras' Emily L. This article discusses how psychological trauma can be represented in literature and, more specifically, how it is represented in Marguerite Duras’ novel Emily L. (1987). The novel has mostly be...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | Danish |
| Published: |
Scandinavian University Press
2018-01-01
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| Series: | Norsk Litteraturvitenskapelig Tidsskrift |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.idunn.no/nlvt/2018/01/aa_fortelle_gjennom_traumer |
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| Summary: | Telling through trauma. Trauma
representation in Marguerite Duras' Emily L.
This article discusses how psychological trauma can be represented
in literature and, more specifically, how it is represented in Marguerite
Duras’ novel Emily L. (1987). The novel has mostly
been read biographically, yet I argue that in doing this, one ignores
the textual structures. I therefore propose a reading based on aspects
of the text itself. My claim is that, despite rarely thematizing
trauma explicitly, the novel can be classified as trauma fiction. Trauma
is represented through voice and focalization, resulting not only
in a story about a traumatized person, but a story told through
a traumatized perspective. I discuss two main plot lines, both concerning
the relationship between the narrator’s speech and what she is talking
about. Firstly, I explore how trauma dissolves the border between
past and present. I then analyze changes in perspective, arguing
that, paradoxically, the narrator’s trauma is more present where
she is concealed in the text. Finally, I discuss the possibility
of healing. |
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| ISSN: | 0809-2044 1504-288X |