Stories of Rape Trauma. Narratological and Psychotraumatological Perspectives

Project Description

This monograph thesis makes use of methods from literary studies (such as close reading and narratology) and trauma theories from psychotraumatology in order to analyze how the subject of rape trauma is depicted through ghostly elements in four novels from Sweden and the United States. The study investigates how different aspects of rape trauma (i. e. the impact of gendered ideas connected to rape, interpersonal relationships, etc) are explored through the narrative modes available within the realm of literary fiction. How does the ghostly presence shape the representation of rape in the novels, both from a literary perspective and through the lens of psychotraumatology? How does the interplay between spectral focalization, social agency and trauma manifest itself in the novels?