From Individual Wounds to Collective Healing: Intergenerational Memory and Trauma in Anne Michaels’ Held

Abstract

This study investigates the depiction of intergenerational trauma and collective memory in Anne Michaels’ held (2023), elucidating how the novel interweaves individual suffering with communal processes of healing. Drawing upon Shoshana Felman and Dori Laub’s theories of witnessing and testimony, together with Cathy Caruth’s trauma framework, the research examines memory as both a locus of psychological burden and a mechanism for the reconstruction of identity across generations. Utilizing qualitative textual analysis, the study interrogates Michaels’ employment of fragmented narrative structures, non-linear chronology, and multi-generational perspectives to illuminate the enduring and intricate dynamics of trauma transmission within familial and social contexts. Material artifacts, letters, and oral testimonies function as connective devices, bridging past experiences with present consciousness and fostering ethical engagement and empathetic understanding. By foregrounding the interplay between individual and collective dimensions of trauma, held demonstrates literature’s transformative capacity to mediate memory, cultivate resilience, and facilitate pathways toward both personal and communal healing and reconciliation.