A psychological study of traumatic effects of war on female characters in Kazuo Ishiguro’s A Pale View of Hills

Arwa Abdullah Alhozaimi ()

International Journal of English Language and Literature Studies, 2025, vol. 14, issue 3, 207-221

Abstract: This study aims to examine the psychoanalytical exploration of the female characters in Kazuo Ishiguro’s A Pale View of Hills (1982), focusing on how the postwar period is portrayed as a traumatic experience for women. Through a qualitative analysis of the novel, the research reveals the psychological effects of war and its enduring post-event impact on the female characters’ psyches. The study is grounded in a psychoanalytic framework centered on the repressed unconscious, which accounts for the development of psychological disturbances due to suppressed memories and emotions. By discussing the postwar impact on multiple levels physical, psychological, social, and emotional—and by employing psychoanalytical concepts, it demonstrates the profound trauma experienced by the characters. Etsuko, Keiko, Niki, Sachiko, and Mariko each suffer unique psychological consequences that illustrate the layered impact of war. The analysis highlights suicide and displacement as physical consequences, repression and projection as psychological mechanisms, and marriage and motherhood as significant social pressures. Grief and loss emerge as powerful emotional forces that shape the characters’ behaviors and identities. The findings indicate that the traumatic consequences of war persist even after geographical relocation. However, the way the female characters manage their psychological burdens reflects a therapeutic process, suggesting a resilient and adaptive response. The study offers insight into the literary representation of postwar trauma and underscores the value of psychoanalytical readings in understanding women's psychological resilience.

Keywords: Displacement; Freud; Kanzuo Ishiguro; Psychoanalysis; Repression; Trauma; War; Women. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:asi:ijells:v:14:y:2025:i:3:p:207-221:id:5530

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