Haiti’s “Painful Truths”: A Postcolonialised Reading of Trauma in Roxane Gay’s An Untamed State
Drawing on a postcolonialised approach to the traditional trauma paradigm, this paper analyses Roxane Gay’s novel An Untamed State as a trauma narrative which does not solely revolve around the Haitian American protagonist’s Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder ensuing her abduction and violation in Port-...
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| Published in: | ES review (Internet) no. 43; pp. 265 - 287 |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
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Universidad de Valladolid
23.11.2022
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| ISSN: | 2531-1646, 2531-1654, 2531-1654 |
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| Abstract | Drawing on a postcolonialised approach to the traditional trauma paradigm, this paper analyses Roxane Gay’s novel An Untamed State as a trauma narrative which does not solely revolve around the Haitian American protagonist’s Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder ensuing her abduction and violation in Port-au-Prince, as suggested by previous critical work. Particularly, it aims to demonstrate that Gay’s heroine is a resilient survivor of both a rape-related trauma and the traumatic blow to her partly Haitian identity caused by her direct contact with Haiti’s social and gender issues. Lastly, the essay examines how the novel delves into the unresolved cultural traumas derived from the effects of (post)colonialism in Haiti, which push the protagonist’s victimisers to commit such terrible acts. |
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| AbstractList | Drawing on a postcolonialised approach to the traditional trauma paradigm, this paper analyses Roxane Gay’s novel An Untamed State as a trauma narrative which does not solely revolve around the Haitian American protagonist’s Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder ensuing her abduction and violation in Port-au-Prince, as suggested by previous critical work. Particularly, it aims to demonstrate that Gay’s heroine is a resilient survivor of both a rape-related trauma and the traumatic blow to her partly Haitian identity caused by her direct contact with Haiti’s social and gender issues. Lastly, the essay examines how the novel delves into the unresolved cultural traumas derived from the effects of (post)colonialism in Haiti, which push the protagonist’s victimisers to commit such terrible acts. Drawing on a postcolonialised approach to the traditional trauma paradigm, this paper analyses Roxane Gay’s novel An Untamed State as a trauma narrative which does not solely revolve around the Haitian American protagonist’s Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder ensuing her abduction and violation in Port-au-Prince, as suggested by previous critical work. Particularly, it aims to demonstrate that Gay’s heroine is a resilient survivor of both a rape-related trauma and the traumatic blow to her partly Haitian identity caused by her direct contact with Haiti’s social and gender issues. Lastly, the essay examines how the novel delves into the unresolved cultural traumas derived from the effects of (post)colonialism in Haiti, which push the protagonist’s victimisers to commit such terrible acts. Recurriendo a un enfoque poscolonizado del paradigma del trauma tradicional, en este artículo se analiza la novela de Roxane Gay, An Untamed State, como una novela de trauma que no solo trata el Trastorno por Estrés Postraumático que sufre la protagonista haitiano-americanadespués de su rapto y violación en Puerto Príncipe, como ha sugerido la crítica hasta hoy día. Concretamente, se pretende demostrar que la heroína de Gay es una superviviente resiliente de un trauma provocado por su violación y también por el golpe traumático que su contacto directo con los problemas sociales y de género de Haití supone para su identidad haitiana. Finalmente, el ensayo examina cómo la novela explora los traumas culturales no resueltos derivados de los efectos del (pos)colonialismo en Haití, los cuales empujan a los victimarios de la protagonista a cometer esos actos tan terribles. |
| Author | Roldán-Sevillano, Laura |
| Author_xml | – sequence: 1 givenname: Laura orcidid: 0000-0002-3894-9065 surname: Roldán-Sevillano fullname: Roldán-Sevillano, Laura |
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| SubjectTerms | americana Haitian American literature literatura haitiano postcolonial trauma resilience resiliencia systemic rape trauma poscolonial victimarios victimisers violación sistémica |
| Title | Haiti’s “Painful Truths”: A Postcolonialised Reading of Trauma in Roxane Gay’s An Untamed State |
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