ECHOES OF SILENCE: TRAUMA, VOICE, AND THE LIMITS OF EXPRESSION IN HANNAH’S THE FOUR WINDS

Abstract

The complex relationship between trauma, silence, and the fight for expression in Hannah's novel The Four Winds is examined in this article. This research employs Hartman's trauma theory as its main framework to examine how Hannah frames trauma as an experience that both demands and resists articulation, exposing the limitations of language in expressing extreme sorrow. The ways that trauma silences victims, breaks narrative coherence, and defies traditional storytelling are also examined in this study. It contends that the selected novel  reflects the disintegration of the self and community in the face of loss, starvation, displacement, and structural injustice by using silence, both physical and metaphorical, as a major narrative technique. Instead of being a simple absence, the silence is an echo of trauma that reverberates throughout the book in the characters' suppressed dreams, broken relationships, and unsaid feelings. The focus of this analysis is Elsa Martinelli, the protagonist whose development from a silent, self-effacing woman into a resilient, resistance-minded character is highlighted. Her experience sheds light on how silence is gendered and how women's voices have historically been suppressed. The research reflects Hannah's literary style, which prioritizes imagery, stillness, and bodily expression over logical storytelling, and it aligns with Hartman's theoretical perspectives by shedding light on the aspects of trauma that are challenging to represent and verbalize.