Trauma and survival: the character of Ma in Emma Donoghue's Room

Abstract

The present thesis explores the trauma of the character of Ma in Emma Donoghue's Room. The purpose of this thesis is to analyse Ma's journey of traumatic recovery, considering the various factors that cause her trauma and hinder her recovery as well as the factors that help her cope with trauma and contribute to her recovery. The thesis consists of an introduction, two core chapters and a conclusion. The introduction presents a short summary of the novel and the aspects that are further discussed in the thesis. The introduction also states the research questions that the study aims to answer. The first chapter is a literature review. It deals with the child perspective of the novel’s narration and provides a theoretical basis for understanding trauma in the novel. It defines the concept of trauma as well as elaborates on the specific types of trauma that Ma experiences, and coping with trauma. The second chapter discusses the journey of Ma's traumatic recovery. It is based on the ideas about the types of trauma and coping mechanisms to analyse the key aspects of Ma’s journey.