Enslaved women’s traumas and resistance to slavery: a study in four selected novels.

Abstract

The thesis examines the trauma that enslaved women encounter at various stages of their capture and enslavement, the ways in which they resist the brutalities of slavery, and how these are represented in the four literary texts under study. The study is subjected through the lens of the psychoanalytic theory of trauma and Slaves resistance to enslavement. The study also employs a qualitative research by doing a close reading of the texts and enhancing the analysis with further information from texts books, journals and articles. Character is the tool used to answer the research questions. Critical analyses of the texts reveal that trauma is not only physical but psychological as well. The findings further suggest that trauma could be Transgenerational. Some female characters did not experience first-hand traumas from the Transatlantic Slave Trade but they are subjected to Transgenerational traumas from their enslaved parents and ancestors. In addition, another important finding is that enslaved women devise several forms of resistance to enslavement such as running away, committing suicide, infanticide, and using negotiation. The study concludes by recommending Africans to resist all forms of enslavement.