27 AMERICAN Journal of Language, Literacy and Learning in STEM Education www. grnjournal.us AMERICAN Journal of Language, Literacy and Learning in STEM Education Volume 01, Issue 10, 2023 ISSN (E): 2993-2769 Autobiographik reflections in trauma Literature NINO MINDIASHVILI Caucasus International University, PhD in Philology, Associate Professor ORCID :0000-0002-6311-3665 ninomindiashvili@gmail.com +995 599 156 891 NIA SADAGHASHVILI Caucasus International University, Reserch center ORCID :0009-0006-1251-9581 nia.sadaghashvili@ciu.edu.ge +995 555 65 86 44 Annotation: The research of traumatic memory in literary studies and comparative discourses is one of the current directions, to the extent that the collective memory containing the trauma forms the literary representation of those events that changed the collective consciousness of the society. When discussing trauma literature, it is worth noting the texts containing personal trauma, authors of which openly tell the reader about the impressions they experienced. The desacralization of the author's personality is a new stage in the development of literature to the extent that a writer is no longer an untouchable person, he/she is an ordinary person who is familiar with human feelings and tragedies. As a rule, the narration in the above-mentioned type of texts takes place in the first person and by honestly telling about traumatic memories and experienced impressions, the author manages to gain the unlimited trust of the reader. This type of literature focuses on the author's personal traumatic experience and the means of release from it. The subject of our interest is to analyze the taboo topics containing personal trauma raised by female authors from a comparative point of view, in this sense, the artistic texts of the famous French writer Annie Ernaux are interesting, where women of different national cultures openly tell the reader about the experienced traumas and complex psychological conditions. Key words: Trauma, Literature, Autobiography, Annie Ernaux. Introduction Trauma theory, as an object of research in humanities, has been forming since the beginning of the 1990s. However, in the opinion of some researchers, the concepts of collective trauma and collective memory still cause controversy and certain differences of opinion, to the extent that certain analytical flaws can be observed in it. The multiplicity of psychological issues somehow complicates the traditional understanding of research, to the extent that trauma theory, as a theoretical framework for the analysis of literary texts, often, due to its nature, makes it difficult to perceive the final result of research, although some researchers prefer not to delve into the nature of trauma and present it as a basic element of history (M. Foucault, R. Barthes, J. Deleuze, F. Lyotard). From the point of view of conceptualization of traumatic memory studies, we consider the works of the following authors particularly important: Jeffrey Alexander (Alexander, 2004), Arthur Neal, Paul Lerner, Roger Lackhurst, Piotr Sztompka, Jennifer L. Griffiths, Julie Goodspeed, Liza Hinrichsen. http://www/ mailto:ninomindiashvili@gmail.com mailto:nia.sadaghashvili@ciu.edu.ge 28 AMERICAN Journal of Language, Literacy and Learning in STEM Education www. grnjournal.us The research of the mentioned authors contributed to the formation of a new theoretical framework and methodology. Of which the literary discourse is distinguished. According to Lisa Hinrichsen, the research of traumatic memory in the literature is a very perspective direction: "Southern literature has long recognized the role of memory, trauma, and history in the development of culture." (Хинриксен, 2017) The researcher believes that the collective memory containing the trauma forms the literary representation of the events that changed the collective consciousness of society. The researcher cites South American literature as an example, which (considering the historical past) is characterized by memories of violence, which itself reflects on the cultural process. (Хинриксен, 2017) Discussion: It is worth noting that researchers focus on several aspects of the reflection of traumatic memory in literary discourse: Representation of systemic violence in literature; national, political, and imperialist reflections; traumatic stories of the Holocaust in literature; traumatic stories of women in literature (sexual violence, incest, brutal treatment); post-colonial trauma in literature; exile trauma in literature; trauma and racism in literature; trauma and disabled people in literature; literature of Vietnam War veterans; gender and sexual orientation in literature, trauma and South American literature. Another trend is worth noting when discussing trauma literature, recently the topics of collective trauma and traumatic memory have been replaced by autobiographical works (personal trauma, autofiction), where the main characters manage to free themselves from traumatic memories, the main marker of this type of works is gaining popularity among mass readers. De-sacralization of the author's personality is a new stage in the development of literature to the extent that a writer is no longer an inviolable person, he/she is an ordinary person to whom human feelings and tragedies are not strange, and most importantly, by writing about these issues, he/she convinces the reader that he/she is just like them. As a rule, the narration in the above-mentioned type of texts takes place in the first person and honestly tells about traumatic memories and experienced impressions, the author manages to gain the unlimited trust of the reader. This type of literature focuses on the author's personal traumatic experience and the means of release from it. According to the assessment of the famous Ukrainian researcher, Katya Tarasyuk, "modern French writers did not shy away from revealing their feelings because at a certain moment they could no longer remain silent and revealed their pain to the readers." (Тарасюк, 2020) It should be noted that predominantly female authors started to bring up taboo topics, for example, gender restrictions, loss of virginity, failed intimate impressions, abortions, rape, and illness. In this context, the creative concepts of the famous French writer Annie Ernoux are interesting, she is the first female author in French history who was awarded the Nobel Prize "for the courage and exceptional sharpness with which she exposes the roots of personal memory, alienation, and collective limitations". ("თავისუფლება", 2022) Annie Ernoux grew up in Normandy, in a family of workers, her parents were cafe-shop owners. She studied at the Universities of Rouen and Bordeaux, where she qualified as a school teacher. Enroux's literary debut took place in 1974. And in 1984, she won the Renaud prize for another novel, which tells about her relationship with her father, and her childhood spent in a small French town. Annie Ernoux's work combines historical and individual experiences. She writes about teenage years, marriage, love relationships with Eastern European men, and abortion, her prose is taught in schools and universities, and due to the collective or personal traumas and thematic diversity presented in her texts, her works provide a basis for multifaceted discussion not only from a literary but also from a historical, psychoanalytical and sociological point of view, that is why researchers from various fields are interested in Annie Ernoux's works. Annie Ernoux notes that "literature should create a certain discomfort, it is connected with something http://www/ 29 AMERICAN Journal of Language, Literacy and Learning in STEM Education www. grnjournal.us sexual" (Kosova & Ponomarenko, 2020), that is why the writer does not shy away from exposing her traumatic experience and making it obvious, which allows her, in many cases, to win the sympathy and love of the reader. In her works, on the one hand, the social environment that imposed certain restrictions on the woman is presented, and on the other hand, the personal tragic memory, which is mainly related to the traumatic experience. For example, we can mention the first abortion, which turned out to be so traumatic for her that she could not erase it from her memory, that is why many critics note about her that "she dared". Professor of the Paul Valery University, J. Siary considers Annie Ernoux to be a person with a sharp social and political awareness, who creates a completely new artistic world and establishes rules, for her the text is the best means of expressing reality, therefore, her autobiographical discourse acquires a completely different form and content, to the extent that it applies not only her own biographies but also of her ancestors (Siary, 2020). The researchers note that the worldview of Annie Ernoux was particularly influenced by the famous French sociologist, P. Bourdieu. Thus, the writer's texts are a sociological reflection, stories about the narrator, who never ceases to surprise and delight the reader. Annie Ernoux's "Naked Passion" was translated into Georgian in 2002 (translator Mzia Bakradze), acting persons: a female narrator, adult children, and a married sexy lover. A woman immersed in a whirlwind of passion is not interested in her children "like a cat grown up kittens" (ერნო, 2002), the father of the children is nowhere to be seen too, in fact, in the text, there is only a female narrator who harbors an abnormal passion, everything for her is associated with her lover, the moments spent with him, the narrator focuses on the appearance of the object of her passion, notes that he has perfect physical data, however, she does not say anything about his attitude towards her, it seems that the handsome man does not pay attention to her, does not compliment her, does not apologize, he just comes, they have sex and leaves. "When talking to others, the only topic that could bring me out of my indifference was related to this man, his work, the country he came from, the places he used to go..." (ერნო, 2002) Another date with a lover is exactly the same as the previous one, the narrator intensifies the text by describing pornographic moments and tries to prove that he is not like others, his feelings are particularly strong and passionate, perhaps not everyone can be next a man who does not appreciate her, does not love her... A woman immersed in passion isolates herself from the outside world, even though she knows very little about the object of her passion, she does not suffer from it, because she herself created his image, which does not leave her mind, feelings, neither in reality nor in her dreams. "Often it seemed to me that I approached love passion with the same tenacity I experienced when writing a book: the same need to make well and perfect and refine each scene, the same care for every detail. In my thoughts, I even went to the point where I was ready to die... (ერნო, 2002) This situation lasts for a long time, however, one day, everything ends and there will be a moment in the hero's life when she will look at the world with a look free of love and passion. Significantly, the narrator does not regret what happened, it becomes clear by confessing everything, the honest narration, and sharing of her traumatic experience with the reader, allowed the author to free herself from her obsessive passion, to sort out her feelings and emotions, to look at her lover more realistically, to overcome painful thoughts and to regain the joy and interest of life. One of the translators of Annie Ernoux's works notes "Annie Ernoux's books are neither experiments nor provocations, her goal is not to shock the reader, she simply tells us her truth, which can turn out to be the truth of each of us." (Красовицкая, 2019) Annie Ernoux’s work is an autobiographical narrative, a woman's world, which is connected with internal vicissitudes and problems. The writer describes the role and place of women in society with the accuracy of a jeweler, unabashedly exposing her traumatic experience, issues of gender inequality, and intimate details, which became the basis for the appreciation and recognition of her works by the http://www/ 30 AMERICAN Journal of Language, Literacy and Learning in STEM Education www. grnjournal.us Nobel Prize committee. All of Annie Ernoux's texts are autobiographical, where painful and traumatic experiences are narrated, texts distinguished by high artistic value and technique, are a kind of therapeutic letters, with the help of which the writer revives events, and gets rid of the pain. The most important concept of the writer's technique is to move from the past to the present (or vice versa), and such chronotype jumps are especially interesting and do not allow the reader to relax. Conclusion: When getting acquainted with the works of Annie Ernoux, it becomes clear that a writer is also an ordinary person with feelings and pains, she is not an inviolable person, sometimes she makes mistakes that can even have irreparable consequences, but she does not shy away from revealing her traumatic experience and entrusting it to the reader for judgment, which does even more increases love and respect for her. It can be said unequivocally that Annie Ernoux is one of the outstanding authors of trauma literature, who made the reader think about many issues by revealing her own pains. The presented discourse allows us to say that the desacralization of the author is a new stage in trauma literature. Annie Ernoux’s autobiographical texts share modern literary trends as well as make the reader look to the past. Taking the position of a witness, the author also touches on the problems of the lower social class, and her art world together with the formal experiments, involves also the understanding of socio-cultural problems, where a kind of opposition is created between the lower and higher social classes, that is, between the "dominants and the dominated", according to researchers (Siary, 2020) Annie Ernoux’s art belongs to auto-socio-biographical writing, which manages to have an indelible impact on the reader through psychological or social accents and the absence of ironic elements. References: 1. "რადიო თავისუფლება", რ. (2022). 2022 წლის ნობელის ლაურეატი-ანი ერნო. თბილისი: https://www.radiotavisupleba.ge/a/32079274.html. 2. Alexander, J. (2004). Cultural Trauma and Collective Identity. Boston: University of California Press. 3. Kosova, Y., & Ponomarenko, E. (2020). The individual and the social in Annie Ernaux's. RUDN Journal of Studies in Literature and Journalism. 4. Siary, G. (2020). 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