Traumatic Re-enactments: Portraits of Veterans in Contemporary British and Canadian First World War Fiction
The paper focuses on the portrait of the First World War veterans in selected British and Canadian novels published at the turn of the twenty-first century. The authors use various means to depict the phenomenon of trauma: from flashbacks disrupting the present, through survivor guilt, nightmares an...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Universidad de Alicante
2018-12-01
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| Series: | Revista Alicantina de Estudios Ingleses |
| Online Access: | https://raei.ua.es/article/view/2018-n31-portraits-of-veterans-in-contemporary-british-and-canadian-first-world-war-fiction |
| _version_ | 1811249050345799680 |
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| author | Branach-Kallas, Anna |
| author_facet | Branach-Kallas, Anna |
| author_sort | Branach-Kallas, Anna |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The paper focuses on the portrait of the First World War veterans in selected British and Canadian novels published at the turn of the twenty-first century. The authors use various means to depict the phenomenon of trauma: from flashbacks disrupting the present, through survivor guilt, nightmares and suicide, to aporia and the collapse of representation. The comparative approach used in the article highlights national differences, yet also shows that the discourse of futility and trauma provides a trasnational framework to convey the suffering of the First World War. As a result, although resulting in social castration and disempowerment, trauma serves here as a vehicle for a critique of the disastrous aftermath of the 1914-1918 conflict and the erasures of collective memory. Re-enacting traumatic plots, the British and Canadian novels under consideration explore little known facets of the 1914-1918 conflict, while simultaneously addressing some of our most pressing anxieties about the present, such as social marginalization, otherness, and lonely death. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T15:38:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-24edd145ee594e31b669b04f9d4ba945 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0214-4808 2171-861X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T15:38:31Z |
| publishDate | 2018-12-01 |
| publisher | Universidad de Alicante |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Revista Alicantina de Estudios Ingleses |
| spelling | doaj.art-24edd145ee594e31b669b04f9d4ba9452022-12-22T03:26:51ZengUniversidad de AlicanteRevista Alicantina de Estudios Ingleses0214-48082171-861X2018-12-013114910.14198/raei.2018.31.0911012Traumatic Re-enactments: Portraits of Veterans in Contemporary British and Canadian First World War FictionBranach-Kallas, AnnaThe paper focuses on the portrait of the First World War veterans in selected British and Canadian novels published at the turn of the twenty-first century. The authors use various means to depict the phenomenon of trauma: from flashbacks disrupting the present, through survivor guilt, nightmares and suicide, to aporia and the collapse of representation. The comparative approach used in the article highlights national differences, yet also shows that the discourse of futility and trauma provides a trasnational framework to convey the suffering of the First World War. As a result, although resulting in social castration and disempowerment, trauma serves here as a vehicle for a critique of the disastrous aftermath of the 1914-1918 conflict and the erasures of collective memory. Re-enacting traumatic plots, the British and Canadian novels under consideration explore little known facets of the 1914-1918 conflict, while simultaneously addressing some of our most pressing anxieties about the present, such as social marginalization, otherness, and lonely death.https://raei.ua.es/article/view/2018-n31-portraits-of-veterans-in-contemporary-british-and-canadian-first-world-war-fiction |
| spellingShingle | Branach-Kallas, Anna Traumatic Re-enactments: Portraits of Veterans in Contemporary British and Canadian First World War Fiction Revista Alicantina de Estudios Ingleses |
| title | Traumatic Re-enactments: Portraits of Veterans in Contemporary British and Canadian First World War Fiction |
| title_full | Traumatic Re-enactments: Portraits of Veterans in Contemporary British and Canadian First World War Fiction |
| title_fullStr | Traumatic Re-enactments: Portraits of Veterans in Contemporary British and Canadian First World War Fiction |
| title_full_unstemmed | Traumatic Re-enactments: Portraits of Veterans in Contemporary British and Canadian First World War Fiction |
| title_short | Traumatic Re-enactments: Portraits of Veterans in Contemporary British and Canadian First World War Fiction |
| title_sort | traumatic re enactments portraits of veterans in contemporary british and canadian first world war fiction |
| url | https://raei.ua.es/article/view/2018-n31-portraits-of-veterans-in-contemporary-british-and-canadian-first-world-war-fiction |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT branachkallasanna traumaticreenactmentsportraitsofveteransincontemporarybritishandcanadianfirstworldwarfiction |