الفهرس 
Trauma: A SurveyOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
 |  | from | 185 |  |  |
| | | from | 185 | | |
Abstract
Women are the asset of a close-knit society. Men have always been targeting women during war times as means of intimidation and demoralization. Women’s war trauma is created by men whether as soldiers raping and torturing them or as patriarchs condemning and expelling them out of their community for being defiled. Such atrocities lead women to a long-term trauma (PTSD) in which they suffer from the grievous symptoms of trauma such as depression, mood swings, hallucinations, traumatic memories, dissociation, alienation and in some cases suicidal tendencies. The present thesis investigates the concept of women’s war trauma; exploring its causes and consequences on individual women and community as well in the light of two of the most inhumane and brutal civil wars through human history namely; The Bosnian Civil War (1992-1995) and The Congo Civil Wars (1996- 2003). It also discusses the stages of trauma and phases of recovery and the notion of war rape as portrayed in Matei Visniec’s The Body of a Woman as the Battlefield in the Bosnian War (1997) and Lynn Nottage’s Ruined (2008).
The dissertation mainly depends on trauma theory. Women’s war trauma is tackled within three dimensions (cultural- psychological- feminist) and is represented in literary texts. Jeffery Alexander is a key theorist in discussing cultural trauma through his book Cultural Trauma and Collective Identity (2004) whereas Judith Herman’s Trauma and Recovery (1992) is a cornerstone for illustrating trauma in terms of definition, symptoms and steps of healing. It is also the base on which the analysis of the selected plays is built. Moreover, Susan Brownmiller’s notion of war rape and targeting women as tools of war in her book Against our Will: Men, Women and Rape (1975) is explained and applied on the heroines.
The dissertation is divided into an introduction, three chapters and a conclusion. The interdisciplinary study of trauma is applied to the selected plays which are analyzed as literary trauma texts.
The introduction sheds light on the core subject of the study presenting its objectives and questions. Chapter one presents a detailed survey of the concept of trauma in general exploring an interdisciplinary study of trauma in terms of (cultural - psychological – feminist) dimensions and its representation in literature in particular. Moreover, an elaborated survey about the causes and consequences of war in Bosnia and Congo is given. The concept of women as targets in wars, going through the different types of abuse is highlighted. This is done with special reference to J. Alexander, J. Herman and Susan Brownmiller. In addition to a detailed description of the features of literary trauma texts according to A. White and M. Balaev.
Chapter two portrays the effects of collective trauma resulting from the collapse of the Soviet Union and the rise of the American hegemony. It also explores the physical and psychological agony of Bosnian women during the civil war (1992-1995) for being raped and damaged as represented in Matei Visniec’s The Body of the Woman as a Battlefield in the Bosnian War (1997). Moreover, it studies the feminist views about the core of women’s war rape namely; intimidation, demoralization and race cleansing.
Chapter three captures the cruel reality of raped abused Congolese women. It sheds light on the traumatic effects of post-colonial Congo and the brutal civil wars (1996-2003) and combats which have been inflamed by external powers to rape the country’s raw material treasures. Congolese women’s war trauma is carefully studied and presented within the three dimensions (cultural-psychological-feminist) as represented in Lynn Nottage’s Ruined (2008).
Finally, the conclusion sums up the findings of the thesis answering directly the thesis questions that have been raised.
The heroines of the selected plays go through a thorny journey of survival. It starts with agony, uncertainty and shame to end with self-identification, acceptance and life-confirmation. Both Visniec and Nottage stress the notion of women’s empowerment as an essential medium of healing and coping. They also show the grave consequences of community neglect on female victims and the serious repercussion of the patriarchal social norms.
Mati Visniec and Lynn Nottage successfully produce two distinct literary trauma works. Visniec applies the typical features of trauma literature such as flashbacks, gothic atmosphere and broken dialogues to explain the traumatic experience and emphasize the severe intrusion symptoms. In contrast, Nottage resorts to poetic language and moving songs to express the trauma and agony of women during war.She avoids broken dialogues and long pauses to affirm the heroines’ resilience and self-determination.
To conclude, the present study aims at showing the grievous impact of wars on the woman’s psyche and physical well-being. It examines trauma within three distinctive dimensions i.e., cultural, psychological and feminist as represented in trauma literary texts. The researcher demonstrates how close and deep is the representation of trauma study in the selected plays. Matei Visniec and Lynn Nottage weave vivid trauma texts to bear witness to the brutal violations against women in war and to raise the spectators’ awareness of damaged women’s dilemma condemning the whole mechanism of war and neglect. They also give trauma victims hope of healing and encourage them to seek recovery and salvation through self-acceptance and remembering.