Dr. K R Narayanan Dalit & Minorities Centre, Faculty of Social Sciences
Abstract
Trauma has profoundly impacted human beings for centuries. There are a number of reasons behind any traumatic event. Trauma is not only a medical, pathological, or psychological condition or state, but it is also ontological, epistemological, and cultural ones. It defies a clear and perceptible understanding, as it is beyond the realm of epistemic frameworks. This paper explores the nuances of trauma on individuals, examining its origins and manifestations through the conceptual frameworks of prominent trauma theorists Catherine Malabou and Cathy Caruth. We have used modern and contemporary fictions encompassing the works of Saadat Hasan Manto, Katherine Mansfield, Razia Butt, Virginia Woolf, Lisa Genova, Preeti Shenoy, and Franz Kafka. They have covered multifaceted nature of trauma, encompassing medical, psychological, ontological, epistemological, and cultural dimensions. By examining various aspects of trauma within the context of these literary works, the paper seeks to provide a deeper understanding of this complex phenomenon.
Keywords: Aporia, Cognition, Conatus, Epistemology, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Shell-shock, Trauma.
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