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A "pre-traumatic stress syndrome": trauma and war in Elizabeth Bowen's *The Last September* and *The Heat of the Day*

Humanities

A "pre-traumatic stress syndrome": trauma and war in Elizabeth Bowen's *The Last September* and *The Heat of the Day*

Q. He

Discover the groundbreaking exploration by Qiong He, challenging the notion of modernist trauma writing as purely post-traumatic. This research innovatively introduces the concept of 'pre-traumatic stress syndrome' through the lens of Elizabeth Bowen's novels, revealing how pre-war anxieties inflicted deep psychic wounds comparable to wartime experiences.

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Playback language: English
Abstract
This essay challenges the prevalent view of modernist trauma writing as solely post-traumatic, introducing Saint-Amour's "pre-traumatic stress syndrome" to analyze Elizabeth Bowen's novels, *The Last September* and *The Heat of the Day*. It argues that pre-war anxieties and anticipation, as depicted in Bowen's works concerning the Irish War of Independence and the Blitz, inflicted significant psychic damage comparable to the actual wartime experiences. The essay contends that Bowen's portrayal of pre-trauma offers a novel perspective on literary trauma studies and enhances our understanding of modernist literature.
Publisher
HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES COMMUNICATIONS
Published On
Feb 05, 2024
Authors
Qiong He
Tags
pre-traumatic stress syndrome
modernist trauma
Elizabeth Bowen
Irish War of Independence
psychic damage
literary trauma studies
modernist literature

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