Manchester University Press Samuel Beckett and Trauma

Beckett’s works are strongly related to the psychological and historical trauma of our age. They not only explore the multifarious aspects of trauma but also radically challenge our conception of trauma itself by the unique syntax of language, aesthetics of fragmentation, bodily malfunctions and the creation of void. This is the first book to specifically address the question of trauma in the works of Samuel Beckett, taking into account the recent rise of trauma studies in literature. Rather than simply applying current trauma theories to Beckett, this book provides new perspectives that will expand and alter existing theories by employing other theoretical frameworks from literature, theatre, art, philosophy and psychoanalysis. Following the introduction, which includes an overview of trauma theories and their relevance to Beckett’s works, eight essays by a range of international contributors discuss Beckett and trauma from three basic perspectives: ‘pathological symptoms’, ‘body and subjectivity’ and ‘historical and cultural context’. Responding to the remarkably wide range of Beckett’s works, the essays in this collection also refer to many works by other European and American authors. The case study that this book presents will interest anybody studying trauma in a range of subjects, including medicine, theatre, art, philosophy and twentieth-century world literature.