Shattered Subjects: Trauma and Testimony in Women's Life-Writing

by Suzette A. Henke

Judith Herman has noted that 'the most common post-traumatic disorders are those not of men in war but of women in civilian life.' How have women survived, both individually and collectively, in the face of unimaginable trauma? In this important new book, Suzette A. Henke finds evidence that women often use writing in order to heal the wounds of psychological trauma. The literary testimonies of Colette, Hilda Doolittle, AnaIs Nin, Janet Frame, Audre Lorde, and Sylvia Fraser provide startling evidence of post-traumatic stress disorder precipitated by rape, incest, childhood sexual abuse, grief, unwanted pregnancy, pregnancy-loss, or severe illness. Their writings are used as a means for survival and healing. Henke analyzes traumatic narrative as the focal point of a large body of autobiographical practice representing the genre of narrative recovery. Shattered Subjects suggests that the powerful medium of written autobiographical testimony may allow the resolution or reconfiguration of the most emotionally distressing experiences.

Genres: Writing, Academic, Mental Health, Feminism

240 pages, Paperback

First published November 15, 1998

About the author

Suzette A. Henke joined the University of Louisville as Thruston B. Morton Senior Professor of Literary Studies in 1991.

Although she initially set out to investigate the intriguing interface between autobiography and fiction of self-writing in context of gender and genre in early 80s, Suzette A. Henke's interest shifted unexpectedly once she witnessed the pattern of repressed trauma in large number of 20th century autobiographical women writings.

Suzette A. Henke, as response to witnessing the pattern, wrote a paper in which she argued that the process of writing in context of trauma can provide an alternative means for post-traumatic auto-therapy for trauma survivors and which she delivered in 1985 at Modern Language Association Convention in Chicago.

But the prevalent notions about literature and trauma have yet to be changed by the Judith Lewis Herman's groundbreaking text Trauma and Recovery that was published in subsequent decade.

Suzette A. Henke made a decision not to deal specifically with Holocaust narratives because a specific historical context was tied to them, which is also true for war and combat trauma narratives written mostly written by male survivors throughout the history, while, on the other side, everyday day trauma that women and children suffered - as part of what adult and male-dominated society defined as "normal" life - went unnoticed throughout human history.

With interest being payed to the narratives of overlooked - mostly women's and children's - trauma by women themselves, things begun to change.

Suzette A. Henke in her research discerned three basic subject-positions in those narratives.

In the survivor's texts and oral narratives we are often, but not always, first met by a "host", as some in the post traumatic dissociation field call this subject-position, whose function is to introduce the reader/ witness, be it externally or internally (within herself or himself) to conflicting memories, feelings and thoughts, presented by, which can be seen as the second subject-position, fragmented version of the self or multiple selves (or personalities); and, as result of being witnessed and read there is socially constructed new subject who is slowly and painfully emerging in the process of writing itself, integrating fragments and seeking successful integration into a larger discursive community. Whether attributable to fantasy or social construction, such (mis-)recognition is vital to the individual's sense of agency and subjectivity. In order to function as an effective being in the world, one must necessary cling to such a result, despite its status of a (partially social, partially fictional) construct.

Reviews

[jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

thought some people among my GR friends might be interested in this. the chapter on anais nin and colette are devastating and yet so, so good. haven't read it in a while, but maybe it's time to re-read.

[Maria · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pretty terrible. Henke does with trauma theory exactly what all my professors and mentors advise not to do---randomly apply it to a "well, duh" text(s).