Narratives Of Trauma In Selected Works Of Colm Tóibín

Colm Toibin(1955-)is one of the most acclaimed living writers in contemporary Ireland.His novels are well-known for their focus on the life and trauma of marginalized groups such as women and homosexual people,revealing their silenced and neglected situation in the Irish society.This thesis selects two of Toibin's novels for research subjects,The South and The Blackwater Lightship,with trauma theory as the research method.It aims to reveal the traumatic experience and possibilities of recovery of marginalized groups represented in the novels.The thesis also discusses Toibin's views towards past traumas that are still disturbing Irish society,and his sympathy for women and homosexual people in Ireland.Toibin pays great attention to the feminist movement and homosexual equal rights movement in Ireland,advocating a more tolerant and inclusive society.Aside from introduction and conclusion,the body part can be divided into two chapters,respectively focusing on the analysis of trauma narration and recovery process in each of the novels.In The South,the protagonist Katherine reveals her personal and political trauma throughout the narration,since she suffers from both the repressed life in her first marriage and the unspeakable mental trauma in her childhood due to Irish political and religious conflicts.In The Blackwater Lightship,Declan is depicted as a marginalized character.He is ignored in the family and discriminated as an AIDS-affected gay in the society.The trauma syndromes of Katherine and Declan and their recovery possibilities are discussed in the thesis.Through the narration of their trauma,Toibin depicts the great social and cultural changes that have been going on in Ireland since the 1990s.Based on the analysis of trauma narratives in the two novels,the thesis further explores Toibin's appeal for communication and mutual understanding as ways to overcome past trauma,and his attitude towards tradition and history.