Embodiment of Trauma
by TaMichael Gocha'
Illness and trauma take on many
different forms. For example there are Acute Stress Disorder, Impulse control
disorder, manic episode, situational trauma, and psychological trauma (“List of
Mental Disorders”). Many times individuals on the outside are not able to
recognize a person who is suffering with illness or who have been through
traumatic situations in life. Some people are able to overcome and speak about
their illness and trauma. There are different responses that the body uses to
speak to the individual and individuals around, according to The Wounded Storyteller (Frank). There are
several different ways of one taking on illness and trauma, like embodiment,
reader as a witness, narrative imperative, narrative surrender, and many
others. Out of all of those, embodiment stands out, because one is able to read
or watch literature and see how someone takes on their trauma or illness. The
movie 12 Years a Slave and the text “The
Yellow Wallpaper” both show how the main character deals with trauma. Although
these are written and produced in completely different times, they both portray
an individual that experiences trauma and how they eventually come to embody
the trauma that they experience.
Embodiment is the taking on of a trauma and actually surrendering to the trauma. 12 Years a Slave follows the life of Solomon Northup and how he is forced into slavery. Northup’s life is a constant progression of attempts to exhibit hope in a hopeless situation to others. Northup’s determination and strength are what keep him daily. This movie based on the true story of Northup who was victim to being kidnapped and sold into slavery. “I will not fall into despair. I will offer up my talents to Master Ford. I will keep myself hearty until freedom is opportune” (12 Years a Slave DVD). Northup speaks this in the beginning of this traumatic situation and is sincere in the fact that help will come for him. During this time of being a slave, he tries to disassociate himself with the normalcy of slavery by constantly reminding himself of his free life. Although time is passing he tries his best to not embody slavery.
After years pass Solomon shows a glimpse of despair and embodiment of the trauma. The clip provided here shows exactly when Northup embodies the trauma he has been existing in for some time. A fellow slave dies, and the slave community holds a make shift burial service. Northup refuses at first to participate with the rest of the slaves. As time progresses, we see him begin to embody the trauma he is experiencing. The burial service is a metaphor for his own life, symbolizing the death of his previous life as a free man. He sings the burial song claps his hands and realizes that he is a slave and that there is possibly no cavalry coming for him. This holds true with previous literature as well--characters embodying trauma that has occurred in their lives.
“The Yellow Wallpaper” is a literary example of embodiment. The narrator is a mother whom the reader knows is suffering from post-partum depression; however, during her time doctors did not understand what was happening to her. In this text she is prescribed the “rest cure.” According to the Science Museum Journal the “rest cure” was coined by Silas Weir Mitchel, who recommended that patients remain in solitude and bed rest on a strict diet regimen. Under such great restraints, the narrator would secretly write and keep journals in order to try and salvage her peace of mind. She is locked away in a room that is quite dingy and filled with yellow wallpaper along the walls. She is constantly in this room where it leaves her mind to wander. After a long stay in the room, she believes that there is a woman behind the wallpaper and that her job is to let the woman out of the wallpaper. “There are things in that paper that nobody knows but me, or ever will” (Gilman 50). This moment in the story is pivotal because she starts to become so obsessed with the wallpaper. So much so that she is determined to free the woman she believes is behind the paper. “I don’t blame her a bit. It must be very humiliating to be caught creeping by daylight! I always lock the door when I creep by daylight. I can’t do it at night, for I know John would suspect something at once" (Gilman 55). Set off by such isolation, she unconsciously relates herself to the invisible woman trapped behind the wall, and in turn, actually releases herself from her isolation. She embodies the illness that has been cast upon her and is no longer able to rise above mentally through her writings. She takes on the persona of the woman being trapped and releases herself. The images of her seeing someone behind the wallpaper trapped is a strong correlation to her being trapped and unable to be free because doctors and her husband believed that seclusion would actually help her in the sickness.
Both the movie and this passage show how people who deal with trauma and illness actually try and stay above the circumstances that are presented in their lives. The initial reaction is to try and stay positive and have hope in the process. Both individuals are able to maintain this hope for great lengths of time. Unfortunately, however, they end up submitting to what they so desperately fought to escape and distance themselves from.
Works Cited
Frank, Arthur W. The Wounded Storyteller: Body, Illness, and Ethics. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1995.
Gillman. Charlotte Perkins. “The Yellow Wallpaper.” New England Magazine. 1892
12 Years a Slave. Steve McQueen. Fox Searchlight Pictures. 2013. DVD.
“List of Mental Disorders.” Wikipedia, the free dictionary. The Wikipedia Foundation, Inc.
30 April 2014. Web. 12 May 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
List_of_mental_disorders>.
“Science Museum Brought to Life: Exploring the History of Medicine.” Rest Cure. N.p., n.d.
Web. 12 May 2014. <http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife
/techniques/restcure.aspx>.
Embodiment is the taking on of a trauma and actually surrendering to the trauma. 12 Years a Slave follows the life of Solomon Northup and how he is forced into slavery. Northup’s life is a constant progression of attempts to exhibit hope in a hopeless situation to others. Northup’s determination and strength are what keep him daily. This movie based on the true story of Northup who was victim to being kidnapped and sold into slavery. “I will not fall into despair. I will offer up my talents to Master Ford. I will keep myself hearty until freedom is opportune” (12 Years a Slave DVD). Northup speaks this in the beginning of this traumatic situation and is sincere in the fact that help will come for him. During this time of being a slave, he tries to disassociate himself with the normalcy of slavery by constantly reminding himself of his free life. Although time is passing he tries his best to not embody slavery.
After years pass Solomon shows a glimpse of despair and embodiment of the trauma. The clip provided here shows exactly when Northup embodies the trauma he has been existing in for some time. A fellow slave dies, and the slave community holds a make shift burial service. Northup refuses at first to participate with the rest of the slaves. As time progresses, we see him begin to embody the trauma he is experiencing. The burial service is a metaphor for his own life, symbolizing the death of his previous life as a free man. He sings the burial song claps his hands and realizes that he is a slave and that there is possibly no cavalry coming for him. This holds true with previous literature as well--characters embodying trauma that has occurred in their lives.
“The Yellow Wallpaper” is a literary example of embodiment. The narrator is a mother whom the reader knows is suffering from post-partum depression; however, during her time doctors did not understand what was happening to her. In this text she is prescribed the “rest cure.” According to the Science Museum Journal the “rest cure” was coined by Silas Weir Mitchel, who recommended that patients remain in solitude and bed rest on a strict diet regimen. Under such great restraints, the narrator would secretly write and keep journals in order to try and salvage her peace of mind. She is locked away in a room that is quite dingy and filled with yellow wallpaper along the walls. She is constantly in this room where it leaves her mind to wander. After a long stay in the room, she believes that there is a woman behind the wallpaper and that her job is to let the woman out of the wallpaper. “There are things in that paper that nobody knows but me, or ever will” (Gilman 50). This moment in the story is pivotal because she starts to become so obsessed with the wallpaper. So much so that she is determined to free the woman she believes is behind the paper. “I don’t blame her a bit. It must be very humiliating to be caught creeping by daylight! I always lock the door when I creep by daylight. I can’t do it at night, for I know John would suspect something at once" (Gilman 55). Set off by such isolation, she unconsciously relates herself to the invisible woman trapped behind the wall, and in turn, actually releases herself from her isolation. She embodies the illness that has been cast upon her and is no longer able to rise above mentally through her writings. She takes on the persona of the woman being trapped and releases herself. The images of her seeing someone behind the wallpaper trapped is a strong correlation to her being trapped and unable to be free because doctors and her husband believed that seclusion would actually help her in the sickness.
Both the movie and this passage show how people who deal with trauma and illness actually try and stay above the circumstances that are presented in their lives. The initial reaction is to try and stay positive and have hope in the process. Both individuals are able to maintain this hope for great lengths of time. Unfortunately, however, they end up submitting to what they so desperately fought to escape and distance themselves from.
Works Cited
Frank, Arthur W. The Wounded Storyteller: Body, Illness, and Ethics. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1995.
Gillman. Charlotte Perkins. “The Yellow Wallpaper.” New England Magazine. 1892
12 Years a Slave. Steve McQueen. Fox Searchlight Pictures. 2013. DVD.
“List of Mental Disorders.” Wikipedia, the free dictionary. The Wikipedia Foundation, Inc.
30 April 2014. Web. 12 May 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
List_of_mental_disorders>.
“Science Museum Brought to Life: Exploring the History of Medicine.” Rest Cure. N.p., n.d.
Web. 12 May 2014. <http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife
/techniques/restcure.aspx>.