MATERNAL TRANSFERABILITY OF TRAUMA AND PSYCHOSOMATIC NATION IN SORAYYA KHAN’S NOOR

Abstract

Ignored or less voiced representation of victimized mothers may appear in the form of certain explicit psychological reactions within generations. Maternal trauma may seep through generations resulting in a psychologically paralyzed nation. The main concern of this paper is to study Sorayya Khan’s novel Noor to unearth treachery and to unfold unspoken traumas (PTSD) inflicted specifically upon mothers during violent incidents. Mothers have always been the carriers of distortion, loss, violence, abuse and acute callousness, transmitting confused and anxious situations to the next generation. Sorayya Khan’s first novel, Noor, addresses such violence and prejudice, thereby reflecting how such intense traumatic experiences actuate the suffering of mothers. This epic piece of art brings forth the hushed voices of both mothers and children who are marginalized, forgotten, oppressed, traumatized, subjected to dislocation and exposed to violence and sexual assault against the backdrop of war. This research tends to unveil the ways in which mothers have been subjected to trauma to cripple the sound psychological foundations of the community/nation. The main purpose of this essay is to address certain essential questions such as: what in fact trauma is, how war affects the life patterns of society, how the trauma inflicted upon women (Mothers) becomes an irresolvable disorder, how trauma can act as a catalyst for the disruption of all sectors of the society, and finally how inherited trauma gives birth to a traumatized nation. The focal point of this research is to examine and explore the issues faced by the fallen ones (Mothers) during times of war and how these issues become precursors for the future lives of the characters, thereby resulting in a hollow nation.