“THE WEIGHT OF UNSPOKEN WOUNDS:TRAUMA AND NARRATIVE FRAGMENTATION IN THE COLOR PURPLE”

Abstract

This article focusses on trauma representation in Alice Walker’s The Color Purple (1982). The novel’s focus on female survivors, employing her unique narrative strategy, epistolary confession, provides insights into the unrepresentability of traumatic experiences. Applying the theories of Cathy Caruth (1996) and Bessel van der Kolk (2014), this article explains and investigates the psychological fragmentation of the protagonist. Caruth’s model elucidates how Celie’s fragmented letters embody belatedness while van der Kolk’s framework informs the somatic symptoms. This dual theoretical approach bridges literary and clinical trauma studies, providing a comprehensive theoretical framework to analyse how the narrative of the main character is portrayed in the novel. The study finds that the use of language is inherently challenging, given the multiple layers of meaning-making. The results indicate that trauma disrupts the protagonist’s mental processes, which further leads to delayed responses, fragmented memories, and long-term mental health consequences.