A Study Of The Intergenerational Trauma In The Bonesetter’s Daughter

This thesis chooses Amy Tan’s the fifth novel The Bonesetter’s Daughter as the research subject under the guideline of trauma theory. It is well-known that people in modern society tend to be troubled by different kinds of psychological pressures in spite of the dramatic advance in science and technology. As a result, increasing numbers of people show the tendency of trauma, which makes them painful. Since there are large numbers of traumatic descriptions in The Bonesetter’s Daughter,exploring the novel The Bonesetter’s Daughter certainly helps to know trauma profoundly. Meanwhile, the fact that there are fewer theses that have researched this novel from the perspective of trauma proves the necessity of researching this novel from the perspective of trauma theory. What’s more, what the novel The Bonesetter’s Daughter describes is not ordinary trauma but intergenerational trauma, which further deepens the meaningfulness of researching this novel.Out of the research perspective, the majority of this thesis has applied trauma theories. In Trauma and Recovery, Judith Herman not only dates back to the history of trauma and classifies the typical syndromes of trauma, but explores chances to walk out of trauma. Applying Herman’s classification towards traumatic symptoms and other trauma theorists’ researches towards traumatic syndromes, both the characters’ traumatic syndromes in the novel and the concept of intergenerational trauma tend tobe introduced in chapter two. In chapter three, the reasons which lead to the characters’ intergenerational trauma are shown to the readers. Herman’s trauma theory that atrocity brings people psychological trauma, which is the characters’ intergenerational trauma’s direct cause and Simone de Beauvoir’s feminism theory that there is historically gender inequality between the male and the female, which causes the characters’ intergenerational trauma fundamentally are both applied.Besides, Jeffrey Alexander’s cultural trauma theory has also been mentioned.Meanwhile, this thesis also explores how the intergenerational trauma has been transmitted from generation to generation in chapter three and how the intergenerational trauma has been cured successfully in chapter four under the guideline of Herman’s related trauma theory.After researches in detail, this thesis finally arrives at the conclusions that trauma is transmissible and the main channel to transmit trauma is the narration of the traumatic story through writing and speaking. Meanwhile, writing not only can transmit trauma, but also is an effective way to help the traumatized to get rid of trauma. Despite this, the true cardinal treatment of trauma is not writing but the love between people.It is no denying that there have been numerous researches on trauma; however,this thesis is still meaningful for it concentrates on the typical intergenerational trauma in the novel. Through analyzing the bonesetter family’s traumatic syndromes,exploring the direct and fundamental causes leading to the three generations’ intergenerational trauma and the channels through which the intergenerational trauma have been passed, and illustrating how the two of three generations successfully walk out of the trauma, this thesis successfully reveals that love is the most fundamental cure of trauma, which sets a good example for the treatment of trauma today.