Orphanhood and trauma in Toni Morrison's A Mercy and Beloved

Abstract

Abstract The current thesis examines the themes trauma and orphanhood and how they are connected in Toni Morrison’s two novels A Mercy (2008) and Beloved (1987), respectively. I will examine how traumatic experiences and the notion of both literal and cultural orphanhood affects the community, and how this has changed from the story in A Mercy being set in the late 17th century and to the story in Beloved, set in the last half of the 19th century. I will also explore different ideas of trauma and see what the repercussions are, and how the effects are dealt with both on a personal level as well as on the level of the community. The notions of trauma being examined is that of singular traumatic events and insidious trauma, a term coined by feminist psychologist Laura S. Brown. This study finds that from the onset of coming to America, marginalized groups such as women and African Americans have been orphaned, both literally and culturally. Orphanhood results in trauma, as being cut off from ones ancestral ties can be damaging to the self. Groups that have been exposed to insidious trauma, often internalize their oppressors’ views, and in many cases end up becoming oppressors themselves. Morrison stresses the importance of community as a way to cope with trauma and to help remember the past in order to be able to move forward.