Md Abu Shahid Abdullah
Healing Trauma and Reasserting Identity through Remembrance in Joanne Fedler’s The Dreamcloth
Číslo: 1/2017
Periodikum: Prague Journal of English Studies
Klíčová slova: Transgenerational trauma; trauma fi ction; repressed memory; marginalization; identity
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Anotace:
e aim of this article is to analyse the role of memory in generating, transmitting
and coming to terms with trauma, and the importance of exploring history, and
talking about and sharing traumatic events in the process of healing in Joan Fedler’s
e Dreamcloth (2005). In the novel, Maya’s memories of her unrequited lesbian
relationship with her beloved Rochel, oppression by the traditional structures of her
family and Jewish community, her forced marriage with Yankel, and her being raped
by him are responsible for her trauma on a personal level, whereas her forced relocation
to South Africa in order to fl ee from the Holocaust is responsible for her trauma on
a communal level. Mia, the protagonist and the grand-daughter of Maya, suff ers
from the transgenerational trauma of her grandmother, is haunted by her ghost, and
also symbolically represents the traumatized Jewish community. She cannot relate to
her own Jewish South African identity and thus tries to avoid being reminded of her
historical background. Mia recovers from her trauma by exploring her history, solving
the riddles of the past and sharing the traumatic memories of the past.
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and coming to terms with trauma, and the importance of exploring history, and
talking about and sharing traumatic events in the process of healing in Joan Fedler’s
e Dreamcloth (2005). In the novel, Maya’s memories of her unrequited lesbian
relationship with her beloved Rochel, oppression by the traditional structures of her
family and Jewish community, her forced marriage with Yankel, and her being raped
by him are responsible for her trauma on a personal level, whereas her forced relocation
to South Africa in order to fl ee from the Holocaust is responsible for her trauma on
a communal level. Mia, the protagonist and the grand-daughter of Maya, suff ers
from the transgenerational trauma of her grandmother, is haunted by her ghost, and
also symbolically represents the traumatized Jewish community. She cannot relate to
her own Jewish South African identity and thus tries to avoid being reminded of her
historical background. Mia recovers from her trauma by exploring her history, solving
the riddles of the past and sharing the traumatic memories of the past.