The Analysis Of Enemies, A Love Story From The Perspective Of Trauma Theory

Isaac Bashevish Singer is one of the most distinguished Jewish writers who got the Nobel Prize in 1978. With unique technique and vivid language, Singer’s works present accurate description of Jews’ life and spiritual condition. The holocaust-themed works possess a significant position in Singer’s writing career, among which, Enemies, A Love Story is a representative. It is the first novel in which Singer firstly converted the background from Poland to America. This novel is about the love and hate between four holocaust survivors who exiled to America after WWII. Compared with the other works of Singer, there are fewer researches on this novel which mainly focus on female images, gender relationship and so on. The author of this thesis tries to interpret this novel from the perspective of trauma theory.This thesis is composed of three sections: introduction, the body and conclusion.The Introduction gives a general account of Singer’s life and his literary works, draws a sketch of Enemies, A Love Story and makes a review on the research on Singer’s works and this novel at home and abroad.The body of the thesis consists of four chapters.Chapter One mainly gives an overview of trauma theory, expounding the definition and the development of trauma theory. Many theorists’ viewpoints on trauma, traumatic symptoms and the recovery from trauma are listed in this chapter.Chapter Two analyzes the origin of the four protagonists’ trauma in the novel. The holocaust in the WWII brings heavy historic blow to the Jews. As survivors of the holocaust, all characters in this novel suffer incurable trauma caused by their traumatic experiences. Tamara witnesses the death of her parents and children, and is told that she has been abandoned by her husband when she needs spiritual comfort most. Marsha is caught into a concentrate camp during the holocaust and is plagued by various violence and maltreatment. Yadwiga marries her beloved man, but she suffers the betrayal of her husband. For Herman, the horrible days hiding in the hayloft and the death of his two children become the permanent trauma in his heart.Chapter Three mainly explores the four protagonists’ traumatic symptoms. After losing her parents, children and husband, Tamara reexperiences her traumatic events repeatedly and shows emotional numbness to the outside world. The horrible memories in the camp bring Marsha the symptom of hyperarousal including difficulty in sleep and irritability. Her traumatic experiences destroy her faith in God. Yadwiga showed irritability after the betrayal of her husband. Herman is also tortured by the reexperience of his past traumatic events, and he also displays avoidance to everything that can trigger his miserable memories.Chapter Four analyzes the four protagonists’ different ways to recover from trauma. Tamara faces up her trauma bravely and steps out of it through her own efforts. She also tries her best to help others. In the process of showing love, Tamara cures herself and saves others at the same time. Marsha chooses to ease her trauma through telling stories. Yadwiga tries hard to change herself and actively builds reconnection with others. In the process, she gradually establishes her subjectivity and finally gains an independent self. Herman manages to seek warmth and spiritual safety from his three women, which greatly alleviates his inner trauma.In the conclusion, the author points out that it’s feasible to analyze this novel from the perspective of trauma theory. And from the analysis, the author of the thesis draws the enlightenment that when encountering trauma, we shouldn’t immerse in it negatively and that trauma can be cured if one holds a positive attitude and tries hard to seek the self-value and hope for new life.