Trauma Theory In Nigeria

One of the most reprehensive subjugation among the so called cultural practices in Nigeria, is the oppression born out of widowhood, poverty is yet another great cause of trauma amongst many Nigerian women, especially among the no/low income earners, polygamy is as well seen to be a great causative agent of psychological disturbances amid Nigerian women chiefly among the northerners, and of course the recent Boko Haram terrorist acts that subjected many Nigerians to psychological distortion. Women in a patriarchal society like Nigeria, are treated with gender subordination which subjects them to experiencing indelible traumas. Trauma, which is today regarded as one of the leading causes of death, is literarily theorized. As such, its theorist

In literature especially, the theory is used in the study of the multiple dimension of characters’ psyche. Susannah Radstone et al in Oxford Bibliographies opines that: “Trauma theory denotes a vibrant, interdisciplinary area of Western scholarship developed since the 1980s through cross-fertilization between psychology and the humanities” (Radstone 1). Another noteworthy aim of trauma narratives is to restructure cultural memory through individual perspectives, taking on testimonial traits to avert and bear witness against such repetitious horrors. (Laurie Vickroy 5). Elissa Marder, a professor of French and comparative literature at Emory University, in her essay Trauma and Literary Studies: Some “Enabling Questions” alsoobserves that’ In the late 20thcentury, Cathy Caruth, a distinguished research professor of comparative literature and English is considered as one of the leading pioneers of trauma theory, she theorized the concept of trauma in the light of literature. That, literary texts are means through which the nature of trauma is revealed by its witnesses. . She argues that literature enables us to bear witness to events that can’t be absolutely known and introduces us to experiences that might have otherwise stayed unspoken and unheard. Caruth powerfully and convincingly shows that despite the fact that certain kinds of events can’t be completely understood,

Women in the eastern, western and southern part of Nigeria are said to have indulged in certain practices which were abominable. They were directly or indirectly subjected to odious customary actions that were extremely horrible and