Redefining of trauma in Iris Murdoch's "The Black Prince" and "The Sea, The Sea"

Trauma is a phenomenon which is too shocking to be fully registered upon occurrence and which instead only manifests belatedly and somewhere else in intrusive images and compulsive re-enactments. An overwhelming and unexpected traumatic event renders its victim vulnerable and powerless by shadowing his or her perception. This thesis examines trauma from a psychoanalytic perspective, with a specific focus on the issues of love and death of someone beloved. Using the psychoanalytic theories of Sigmund Freud, Jacques Lacan and principles of trauma theory as a starting point, a close textual reading of Iris Murdoch's The Black Prince and The Sea, The Sea will be presented. The concept of trauma will be redefined because of the fact that these books does not actually correspond to the typical norms of trauma narratives. As a matter of fact, the trauma in the books is what could be called the "trauma of the quotidian," a pedestrian trauma that nonetheless has the potential to cause the most intense suffering that most people will ever experience, should we be fortunate enough to escape war, natural disaster or mutilating accident. This thesis aims to explore how "trauma of the quotidian" within these texts is represented and engaged.