Trauma In Flaubert’s Parrot

Drawing on the trauma theories of Judith Herman and Ronnie Jannoff-Bulman, this thesis intends to discuss the trauma of the protagonist Geoffrey Braithwaite in Julian Barnes’ novel Flaubert’s Parrot, which is a relatively new angle to the study of the novel. The thesis mainly analyzes the symptoms and causes of Braithwaite’s trauma, and his difficulties to recover from trauma.Chapter one provides a brief introduction of the novel, the literature review and the theoretical framework of the paper. Chapter two analyzes Braithwaite’s traumatic symptoms, including the prolonged and unspeakable grief, the obsessions and the recurring traumatic dream. Chapter three discusses the two important causes of Braithwaite’s trauma – his wife Ellen’s repeated infidelity and her final suicide. Chapter four explores the difficulties of Braithwaite’s recovery from trauma. Chapter five concludes that Braithwaite’s trauma is an important clue throughout the narration of the whole novel, and it is also a reason for the special style of the novel. The disastrous marriage and his wife’s suicide are two main causes for Braithwaite’s trauma. By intertwining his wife Ellen’s stories with Flaubert’s, Braithwaite tries to express his traumatic feelings to cure himself. However, his attempts basically end up with a failure due to various difficulties.