I wish to suture Frankenstein with a dialogue bound up with theories of trauma. It is my aim to probe the linkages of trauma inflicted upon female bodies and how these traumatic bodies are not simply rendered passive recipients, but rather how the afflicted female body becomes a site of resistance; how agency can be reclaimed through renarritivization and resistance.
The spaces and geographies of theoretical female trauma contained in Frankenstein are not merely traumas unique to Shelley’s novel, but rather signifiers emblematic of and imbricated in our dominant ideological geographies and collective psyche.
It is here that I reject both the phallocentric logics of Freud and Lacan and the anti-Oedipal structures of Deleuze and Guattari and instead put forth my own framework of a non-Oedipal, non-phallic apparatus of the Real. The separation from this non-Oedipal/non-structure, the original trauma of the severing of the child from the mother (the biological excision, psychic cleaving of the I and the non-I) is what inaugurates the formation of severalties and subjectivization, the birth of the gender binary, the masculine and the feminine (a sort of traumatic construction in and of itself.)
Table of Contents
1. Introduction: Feminist Criticism and the Scientific Revolution
2. Victor Frankenstein and the Penetration of Nature
3. Harriet Jacobs and the Traumatic Body as Resistance
4. Sycorax and the Absence of the Feminine in The Tempest
5. Conclusion: Trauma, Language, and the Transcendental Signified
Objectives and Topics
This work examines the intersections of trauma, gender, and agency within literary narratives, specifically analyzing how female bodies—whether fictional or historical—are subjected to patriarchal violence and subsequently reclaim agency through resistance and renarritivization.
- The role of the "male trauma fetish" in underpinning socio-cultural power dynamics.
- Feminist criticism of 19th-century scientific rationalism and its gendered metaphors.
- The transformation of traumatized bodies into active sites of rebellion.
- Subverting phallocentric psychoanalytic frameworks to center female resilience.
Excerpt from the Book
Sycorax and the Absence of the Feminine
Sycorax is never physically present, her absence emblematic of the feminine lack of agency within the play. According to Ania Loomba in The Tempest: a case study of critical controversy, Prospero uses “language of misogyny as well as racism” (328). Loomba asserts that Sycorax’s blackness (though never explicitly stated in the play, many critics interpret Sycorax as a black woman) creates an intersectional struggle between her identity as a black woman and the patriarchal power of Prospero. Therefore, “Prospero as colonialist consolidates power which is specifically white and male, and constructs Sycorax as a black, wayward, and wicked witch in order to legitimize it” (Loomba 329). Sycorax’s absence allows Prospero to construct an imaginary of her existence— she is not present to represent herself, so Prospero is afforded the privilege of constructing and narrativizing Sycorax, this narrative being the audience’s only representation of her.
Summary of Chapters
Introduction: Feminist Criticism and the Scientific Revolution: This chapter introduces the theoretical framework of examining literary texts through a feminist lens, specifically focusing on how patriarchal structures treat the feminine as passive and inert.
Victor Frankenstein and the Penetration of Nature: This section explores how Victor Frankenstein’s scientific pursuit mirrors a violent, masculine desire to dominate and possess the female body of nature.
Harriet Jacobs and the Traumatic Body as Resistance: This chapter analyzes how Harriet Jacobs reclaims agency over her own body while enduring the physical and psychological trauma of slavery.
Sycorax and the Absence of the Feminine in The Tempest: This part investigates how the character of Sycorax serves as a site of resistance and a subversion of patriarchal authority, even in her physical absence from the play.
Conclusion: Trauma, Language, and the Transcendental Signified: The final chapter reflects on the limitations of language in expressing trauma, suggesting that the essence of traumatic experience remains beyond the reach of linguistic signification.
Keywords
Trauma, Agency, Feminism, Patriarchy, Resistance, Frankenstein, Harriet Jacobs, The Tempest, Sycorax, Psychoanalysis, Phallocentrism, Nature, Reproductive Cycle, Narrative, Subversion.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this work?
The work investigates the nexus of trauma, gender, and power in literature, arguing that female figures are not merely passive victims but active agents of resistance.
What are the central themes discussed?
Key themes include the "male trauma fetish," the intersectionality of race and gender, colonial power structures, and the reclamation of agency through storytelling.
What is the main research objective?
The objective is to subvert traditional phallocentric psychoanalytic readings by focusing on how women reconfigure oppressive environments and destabilize patriarchal authority.
Which methodologies are employed?
The author employs a psychoanalytic approach to explore trauma and bodily resistance, while integrating critical theory from scholars like Anne K. Mellor, Ania Loomba, and Jacques Derrida.
What is covered in the main body of the text?
The body text provides deep-dive analyses of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Harriet Jacobs’ slave narrative, and Shakespeare’s The Tempest.
Which keywords characterize this study?
Keywords include Trauma, Agency, Resistance, Patriarchal Power, Renarritivization, and Psychoanalysis.
How does the author characterize Victor Frankenstein’s scientific endeavor?
The author characterizes Victor’s science as a form of sexual politics, where the male scientist seeks to "conquer and subdue" nature by usurping her reproductive functions.
In what way does Sycorax exert power in The Tempest despite being absent?
Sycorax exerts power through her pregnancy and the exclusion of the male from the reproductive process, which defies Prospero’s obsession with paternal lineage and male authority.
- Quote paper
- Lena Dassonville (Author), 2016, "Untitled". Trauma and the Feminine in Frankenstein, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/346596
