Narratives of trauma and race
(A response to a thread in the Narrative-List asking for suggestions:)
In a study of trauma and race, I would suggest including Stephen Crane's "The Monster"— I once wrote a paper on the black protagonist's disfigurement as a traumatic displacement of racial/ethical tensions. Not that it is a trauma depicted under the author's control, I think. In dealing with traumatic narratives, of course, there is the issue of whether it is the critic who brings the trauma to light, or whether the narrative is a narrative of trauma acknowledged and dealt with by the author, or whether the traumatic situation is "always already" analyzed in a narrative which on the face of it would seem to be a mere traumatic expression. And all the shades of grey in between.
In a study of trauma and race, I would suggest including Stephen Crane's "The Monster"— I once wrote a paper on the black protagonist's disfigurement as a traumatic displacement of racial/ethical tensions. Not that it is a trauma depicted under the author's control, I think. In dealing with traumatic narratives, of course, there is the issue of whether it is the critic who brings the trauma to light, or whether the narrative is a narrative of trauma acknowledged and dealt with by the author, or whether the traumatic situation is "always already" analyzed in a narrative which on the face of it would seem to be a mere traumatic expression. And all the shades of grey in between.
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