The Manifestation of Trauma in Nayomi Munaweera’s What Lies Between Us: A Thematic Analysis

Main Article Content

Houaria Lilya ADLA
Azzeddine BOUHASSOUN

Abstract

Trauma literature has garnered a lot of interest and has gained a significant position in today’s literary studies as it offers an outlook on the different reactions of individuals in face of disruptive experiences. Since the language of literature has a fascinating power to display the inner world of man, there has been a rising interest in trying to depict the struggles of unearthing deeply buried emotional turmoil. This gave birth to the merger of literature and psychoanalysis resulting in the emergence of literary trauma theory. The objective of the present paper is to examine how authors explore the theme of trauma in their writings to expose the struggles imposed by different kinds of traumatic experiences as their stories have been revolving around characters whose identities are lost in-between worlds and whose voices are unheard or muted. The analysis is conducted through a thematic analysis of Nayomi Munaweera’s What Lies Between Us to explore how the author employs literary devices to represent the protagonist’s experience of psychological trauma and displacement. The findings reveal the main features of Munaweera’s trauma narrative and how they are consistent with the broader framework of literary trauma theory. By analysing Munaweera’s novel, this paper provides insights into the ways literature can offer a pathway towards reconciliation and self-healing to those who have experienced trauma.

Article Details

How to Cite
ADLA, H. L., & BOUHASSOUN, A. (2025). The Manifestation of Trauma in Nayomi Munaweera’s What Lies Between Us: A Thematic Analysis. ALTRALANG Journal, 7(1), 280-290. https://doi.org/10.52919/altralang.v7i1.540
Section
Articles
Author Biographies

Houaria Lilya ADLA, University of Tlemcen Abou Bakr Belkaid, Algeria

Lilya H. ADLA is a doctorate student from the University of Abou Bakr Belkaid, Faculty of Languages and Literature, department of English, Tlemcen, Algeria. She graduated with a Masters in International Trade and Finance in 2015 from the University of Sidi Bel Abbes and then a Masters in English Literature in 2018 from the University of Belhadj Bouchaib, Ain Temouchent. She is an Assistant Teacher at the University Belhadj Bouchaib, Ain Temouchent, Algeria. Currently, her work focuses on the impact of diasporic trauma on Cultural Identity.

Azzeddine BOUHASSOUN, University of Ain Temouchent Belhadj Bouchaib, Algeria

Azzeddine BOUHASSOUN is a professor of comparative literature at Belhadj Bouchaib University, Ain Temouchent. He obtained his doctorate in Comparative Literature from the University of Djilali Liabes, Sidi Bel Abbes and has since published extensively on Arabic and Francophone literatures. His research interests include literary theory, postcolonial studies, and cultural studies, with a particular focus on the representation of identity, gender, and politics in literature. He has also presented his work at numerous national and international conferences and has been invited to speak at various universities in Algeria. As an educator, he is committed to promoting critical thinking and fostering a love for literature in his students.

References

• Abubakar, S. (2017). Art as Narrative: Recounting Trauma through Literature. IRA-International Journal of Management & Social Sciences (ISSN 2455-2267), 8(1), 118-123. https://doi.org/10.21013/jmss.v8.n1.p13
• Al Khabbas, A. K. (2020). Permanent Trauma: A Reading of Dima Wannous’ The Frightened Ones and Ibtisam Teresa’s Cities of Pigeons. State University of New York at Binghamton.
• Anderson, S. W. (2012). Readings of Ttrauma, Madness and the Body (1st ed). Palgrave Macmillan.
• Arizti, B. (2018). “Welcome to Contemporary Trauma Culture”: Foreshadowing, Sideshadowing and Trauma in Ian McEwan’s Saturday. In Trauma in Contemporary Literature Narrative and Representation (First issued in paperback 2018, pp. 237–249). Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
• Balaev, M. (Ed.). (2014). Contemporary Approaches in Literary Trauma Theory. Palgrave Macmillan UK. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137365941
• Caruth, C. (1995). Trauma: Explorations in Memory (pp. ix, 277). Johns Hopkins University Press.
• Caruth, C. (1996). Unclaimed Experience: Trauma, Narrative, and History. Johns Hopkins University Press.
• Craps, S. (2014). Beyond Eurocentrism: Trauma Theory in the Global Age. In G. Buelens, S. Durrant, & R. Eaglestone (Eds.), The future of trauma theory: Contemporary literary and cultural criticism (pp. 45–61). Routledge.
• Craps, S. (2015). Postcolonial Witnessing: Trauma out of bounds. Palgrave Macmillian.
• Croisy, S. (2012). Other Cultures of Trauma: Meta-metropolitan Narratives and Identities. AV Akademikerverlag.
• Eck, D. (1998). Gangā: The Goddess Ganges in Hindu Sacred Geography. In J. S. Hawley (Ed.), Devī: Goddesses of India (First Indian edition, pp. 137–153). Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited.
• Felman, S., & Laub, D. (2013). Testimony: Crises of Witnessing in Literature, Psychoanalysis and History. Routledge.
• Ganteau, J.-M., & Onega, S. (2014). Contemporary Trauma Narratives: Liminality and the Ethics of Form. Routledge.
• Granofsky, R. (1995). The Trauma Novel: Contemporary Symbolic Depictions of Collective Disaster. P. Lang.
• Khan, S. A., & Khan, M. U. (2021). Narrating the Indescribable: Psycho-Traumatic Persona of “the Woman” in Rahimi’s “The Patience Stone.” Liberal Arts and Social Sciences International Journal (LASSIJ), 5(1), 401–412. https://doi.org/10.47264/idea.lassij/5.1.26
• Luckhurst, R. (2008). The Trauma Question. Routledge.
• Monaco, A. (2016). Malinconia e Nostalgia Nell’opera di Jhumpa Lahiri “Melanchony and Nostalgia in the Works of Jhumpa Lahiri. Vulnerability and Resilioence” [Ph.D., Universita Di Pisa]. https://etd.adm.unipi.it/theses/available/etd-06122017-153831/unrestricted/Tesi_Lahiri_Monaco.pdf
• Mulvany, M. (2012). Robert F. Garratt, Trauma and History in the Irish Novel: The Return of the Dead. Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2011. 170 pages. GBP 50.00. Irish University Review, 42(1), 208–212. https://doi.org/10.3366/iur.2012.0026
• Munaweera, N. (with Internet Archive). (2016). What Lies Between Us. New York, NY : St. Martin’s Press. http://archive.org/details/whatliesbetweenu0000muna
• Richter, D. H. (Ed.). (2018). Companion to Literary Theory (First edition). Wiley.
• Saranya, P. (2021). From Victim to Martyr: A Feministic Study of Nayomi Munaeera’s Island of a Thousand Mirrors. New Literaria, 2(1), 105–112. https://doi.org/10.48189/nl.2021.v02i1.011
• Vickroy, L. (with Internet Archive). (2002). Trauma and Survival in Contemporary Fiction. Charlottesville : University of Virginia Press. http://archive.org/details/traumasurvivalin0000vick_m0q8
• Whitehead, A. (2004). Trauma Fiction. Edinburgh Univ. Press.
• Ziadi, A. (2016, August 6). Inheritance of Loss: A Tragic Chain of Circumstances Leads to a Young Mother’s Ultimate Failure [E-paper editorial]. The Hindu. https://www.thehindu.com/books/literary-review/Inheritance-of-loss/article14553179.ece
• Žindžiuvien, I. (2013). Elements of Trauma Fiction in the 9/11 Novel. Editura Universităţii de Vest Din Timişoara / Diacritic Timisoara, 71–81.