https://doi.org/10.67147/literariness.v1i4.106
Mechanics of Oppression: The Transition of Suppression, Repression, and Trauma in Elif Shafak’s The Island of Missing Trees
C. JENCY PRASANNA
Ph.D. Research Scholar
(Reg. No. 2511214022003)
PG and Research Department of English
Nazareth Margoschis College at Pillaiyanmanai, Nazareth – 628617
(Affiliated to Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Abishekapatti, Tirunelveli)
Email ID: jencyprasanna17@gmail.com
DR. J. MARY STELLA
Research Guide and Supervisor
Assistant Professor of English
PG and Research Department of English
Nazareth Margoschis College at Pillaiyanmanai, Nazareth – 628617
(Affiliated to Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Abishekapatti, Tirunelveli)
Email ID: stellaponraj2008@gmail.com
Abstract: Elif Shafak constructs the novel The Island of Missing Trees (2021) as a powerful voice for the voiceless subjects. It uncovers the struggles endured by the characters within the context of oppression. The novel delineates the domineering and destructive properties of psychic oppression and its pervasive influence on nearly all of its characters. This paper intends to examine the profound psychological impact of oppression through its mechanics such as gender stereotypes and ethnic conflicts by adopting the lens of psychoanalytic theory and trauma studies. Firstly, the paper focusses on revealing the manifestation of these mechanics through rigid societal norms and violence in the novel. Secondly, this analysis intends to expose how these mechanics evoke the dual natured coping mechanism of the human psyche: conscious suppression and unconscious repression of emotions and feelings. Thirdly, it aims to elaborate on the traumatic impact of instigated psychological change in the characters’ mind. This study clearly reveals how psychological oppression inflict profound psychic trauma that drives the subjects into the disastrous cycle of conscious suppression and unconscious repression which not only hold them inaudible but also drive them to store the pain as archives instead of erasing the distress.
Keywords: Oppression, Gender Stereotypes, Ethic Violence, Suppression, Repression, Silence, Stored Trauma
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