TRAUMA AND NARRATIVE FRAGMENTATION IN TONI MORRISON’S BELOVED: A PSYCHOANALYTIC READING

Abstract

In this research paper, the interaction and interrelation between trauma and narrative fragmentation in the novel, Beloved by Toni Morrison has been assessed focusing on the psychoanalytic approach in explaining the psychological and emotional disturbance of the characters in the novel. The argument of the study is as follows: the fragmented narrative style, which can be described as a patchwork tale, as it was in the case of the novel by Morrison, reflects the disjointed and fractured lives of the characters of the novel survivors of enslavement. The psychoanalytic strategy enables one to gain a better insight into unconscious impulses and repressions, which form the memories, identities, and behavior of the characters. The investigation will help to reveal the connection of traumas, memory and the process of recovery or repression by conducting an analysis of the way Morrison employs narrative disjunction and repetition. With this discussion, the article indicates the importance of Beloved not only to illustrate a historical trauma but a multi-layered investigation on the psychological effects of slavery whose legacies continue to live even in the post-slavery era.