Decolonized Trauma and Narratology in Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Lowland

نوع مقاله : مقاله پژوهشی

نویسندگان

1 MA student, Department of English Language and Literatures, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, Golestan University, Gorgan, Iran

2 Associate Professor, Faculty of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism,, University of Mazandaran, Babolsar, Iran(Corresponding Author)

10.22077/islah.2026.10173.1756

چکیده

The theory of decolonized trauma deviates from the western definition of trauma, which is based on occurrence and non-representation. In this regard, this article aims to address how trauma is represented in the novel The Lowland of the American-Indian author, Jhumpa Lahiri, by focusing on some narratological concepts such as order, frequency, duration, and focalization theorized by Gerard Genette. The study examines how Lahiri’s narrative reconfigures the three aporia of classical trauma theory: representation, repetition, and belatedness. Instead of considering trauma as the depiction that cannot be described, The Lowland portrays the psychological trauma of Gauri and Subhash through continuous flashbacks, repetitions, and focalization changes. These methods underscore the fact that memory continues to play its role in the diasporic life and these methods assist the characters to deal with and reconstruct their traumatic pasts. According to the study, applying both focalization by Lahiri provides the characters of immigrants with narrative agency and enables them to represent their experiences of living in a transnational environment and to conceive of new ways of community. Altogether, the article demonstrates that Lahiri employs certain narratological techniques to introduce a decolonized perspective on trauma that breaks the boundaries of the Western trauma theory.
 

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  • تاریخ دریافت: 08 مهر 1404
  • تاریخ بازنگری: 12 بهمن 1404
  • تاریخ پذیرش: 05 خرداد 1405

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