Identity Disruption: Investigating The Half Mother in the Light of Trauma Theories

Abstract

The paper is associated with mapping trauma and structure of self in Bashir's (2014) novel, "The Half Mother." The trauma theory of Caruth (1996) is applied to the aforementioned novel with a view to gauging the intensity of trauma, especially keeping in mind the structuring and restructuring of identity formation. The study is in keeping with traumatic occurrences, particularly concerning state viciousness and enforced disappearances, which shape individual and collective identities in War-ridden zones like Kashmir. The central character of the novel, Haleema, personifies the trauma of loss and disruption, dislocation, and damage, piloting the psychosomatic aftereffects of the enforced abduction of her only son, Imran and the merciless massacring of her father, Ab Jaan on the behest of the Indian Armed Forces stationed in the occupied Kashmir. Caruth's (1996) premise interprets a shock as a delayed understanding that returns and haunts the survivor in the form of nightmares, flashbacks, and intrusive thoughts. It is always unassimilated and beyond the knowledge of the survivor. It also fractures the linear order of the narrative, thereby disrupting the selves of the survivors, and steering them to a state of traumatic neurosis. The paper examines the incoherence between the shock and its later understanding and depiction with a view to gauging identity disruption. The results highlight that traumatic shock disorders sequential steadiness of the narrative and fractures the sense of self. This state of affairs leaves the survivor in a state of deferred bereavement and quest for recovery. The paper proposes proposals for future exploration into trauma literature, which is in keeping with the issues of conflicting regions. It also highlights the recovery and healing mechanism that helps regain the disrupted identity.