SCARS BENEATH THE SURFACE: NARRATIVE REPRESENTATIONS OF EMBODIED TRAUMA IN ROSSON’S SHORT FICTION

Abstract

This research explores the representation of trauma in Rosson’s This world or the Next and Homecoming through the lens of Van der Kolk’s trauma theory. It examines that trauma is not confined to mental damages but rather gets ingrained in the body, manifesting up through assortment of symptoms like numbness, disconnection, emotional regulation. It also emphasized that trauma effects not only individuals but communities as well by resulting in communal and generational sufferings. In Rosson’s, narratives, characters demonstrate trauma through silence, self-harm, fear and hallucinations. In This World or the Next, characters emerge physically and spiritually depleted, executing fabricated miracles while confronting profound internal conflicts. Similarly, Homecoming portrays a soldier returning from war who experiences alienation and estrangement from his hometown, reflecting the lingering effects of war trauma. The study demonstrates how Rosson’s fiction reflects van der Kolk’s assertion that trauma is embodied and collectively transmitted.  Thus, the research highlights the role of literary fiction in representing traumatic experiences that often resist direct expression.