On Memory and Trauma: People with Disabilities, as seen in Contemporary Literary Works
Andrzej BORKOWSKI
Instytut Językoznawstwa i Literaturoznawstwa, Wydział Nauk Humanistycznych, Uniwersytet Przyrodniczo-Humanistyczny, ul. Żytnia 39, 08-110 Siedlce, Poland , Polandhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-0003-4468
Abstract
The article discusses the function and importance of memory in the process of rebuilding the physical, mental and spiritual condition in individuals who suffered a serious accident or experienced a serious illness. The analysis not only covers the way memory functions after a trauma, but also includes an attempt to explain the role of memory in the very slow process of recovery, as seen on the example of literary protagonists with disabilities. The works selected for analysis, i.e., books by Heidi Hassenmüller, Zbigniew M. Nowak, Julie Sheldon and Lucy Elphinstone, and Max Sinclai, are instances of European memoir literature. The biographies of the characters in question show that memory plays an extremely important role in the process of recovery after a trauma caused by a sudden accident or illness. Memory enables a human person to draw on the positive resources in her life history (such as her childhood, family or friendships) and to recall the memories that—properly processed—give meaning to a human life.
Keywords:
disability, contemporary memoirs, trauma, memory, hermeneutics, the sacredInstytut Językoznawstwa i Literaturoznawstwa, Wydział Nauk Humanistycznych, Uniwersytet Przyrodniczo-Humanistyczny, ul. Żytnia 39, 08-110 Siedlce, Poland https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0003-4468
