Poststructuralist Redemption: The influence of De Man on Trauma Theory

Abstract

This thesis investigates Cathy Caruth’s works on trauma theory to point out the effects of literary theorist Paul de Man and discuss its relevancy and viability in literary criticism. This study analyses Cathy Caruth’s landmark works Trauma: Explorations in Memory(1995) and Unclaimed Experience: Trauma, Narrative, and History(1996) as a tribute to de Man. Although she rarely discusses De Man, her works use his ideas on language. Therefore trauma theory is a theory of language and textuality, and an expansion of De Man’s ideas. While Caruth tried to bring De Man’s deconstruction to an ethical and political ground many scholars(Davis 2020, Toremans 2014, Leys 2000, Radstone 2007, Craps 2013, Bond, Craps 2020) have observed that she failed to do so. This study takes its cue from the scholarly criticism to Caruth’s insufficient trauma theory and highlights the need for a renewed understanding of trauma theory. This thesis argues that an inclusive and clarified theory of trauma can be a critical tool for analysing contemporary literary works and it can potentially provide valuable insight into the reflections of trauma in these works. This study aims to contribute to the existing literature on literary trauma theory and literary analysis by identifying the core problems and by trying to come up with solutions or better ways to analyse trauma in literature.