The Trauma Writing In Margaret Atwood’ Novels

Margaret Atwood(1939-)is a contemporary Canadian writer who enjoys a good reputation in the international literary world.Her literary works,especially full-length novels,are widely welcomed by readers at home and abroad.In addition to her identity as a writer,Atwood is also a famous feminist,Canadian nationalist,and social activist.She pays great attention to the marginalized living conditions of vulnerable groups such as women,children and marginalized ethnic groups,and weaves their experiences into her works.Because of this,Atwood’s novel creation has a distinctive feature of trauma writing.For example,from the perspective of characters’ images,abnormal physiological/psychological states,such as self-splitting,emotional repression,inexplicable fear,sensory numbness,and self-injury,often appear in many of her characters,which are all external manifestations of psychological trauma syndrome.In terms of content,Atwood’s writing of the victim-survivor experience also accords with the spirit of trauma narrative to a large extent.It is worth mentioning that Atwood’s writing of trauma is not only the result of her observation,experience and thinking about reality,but also closely related to her Canadian national identity.It can be said that "trauma writing" has become a kind of conscious awareness of Atwood’s literary creation.This article mainly from the perspective of theory of trauma to Atwood’s Cat’s Eye,Blind Assassin,Alias Grace and Surface,The Robber Bride,Lady Oracle,HAG-SEED and so on seven of the most representative in traumatic novels as the research object.The first chapter systematically sorts out the common types of trauma in Atwood’s novels,which are divided into three categories: child growth trauma,female gender trauma and Canadian ethnic trauma.By writing about these wounds,Atwood revealed a variety of,or hidden or explicit violence in social life and its adverse effects.The second chapter focuses on the exploration of trauma repair in Atwood’s novels.Atwood’s heroes have been almost traumatized in their growth,but none of them have been knocked down by trauma.They are often "extremely born",actively seeking ways to rebuild themselves,regain confidence and strength in nature,art or social interaction with others,so as to achieve self-healing.The third chapter focuses on the characteristics of Atwood’s traumatic writing,which mainly includes the division and integration of characters,the "false" and "true" of traumatic speech,and the deep integration of narrative time and trauma experience.The fourth chapter explores the cause and value of Atwood’s wound writing.From the perspective of writing reasons,the influence of Canadian national psychology and personal reality are important factors leading Atwood to write trauma.The value of his trauma writing is mainly to provide guidance for injured souls in reality and to seek witness for neglected traumas.