Between Repetition’s Grip and the Silence of the Unclaimed - Freudian and Caruthian Approaches to Trauma and Narrative in Hanya Yanagihara’s A Little Life

Abstract

This essay examines the emotionally impactful trauma narrative in Hanya Yanagihara’s novel A Little Life (2015) through a Freudian approach, which centers on repetition compulsion and the death drive, and an approach influenced by Cathy Caruth, who studies her theories on belated narration and unresolved narrative. The essay’s focus is on how the novel’s narrative, focalization, and discourse can be read through a Freudian or Caruthian model of trauma. As Freud’s repetition compulsion is not necessarily presupposed in narrative fragmentation, this essay rather portrays and studies the compulsion through the character Jude’s repetitive habits. In contrast, Caruth proposes that trauma is unspeakable, unclaimed, and processed belatedly. Therefore, while Freud’s model of trauma is possible to simply be depicted through a character that suffers the repetition compulsion, Caruth’s approach is rather required to be studied through a narratological perspective. In addition, for Freud, when discussing literature, there is an aspiration for closure of narrative as opposed to Caruth, who, because of the belief in unclaimed narrative, suggests an unresolved ending.