The Department of English discusses a master\’s thesis on transgenerational trauma in the novels of Maggie O\’Farrell

The Department of English at the College of Education for Humanities discussed the master\’s thesis entitled \”Transgenerational Trauma in Maggie O’Farrell’s The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox (2006) and The Hand That First Held Mine (2010),\” submitted by the student Sarah Abdulqader Hammoudi.

The thesis aimed to examine the concept of transgenerational trauma in the two novels by the Irish author Maggie O’Farrell by analyzing how the effects of trauma are transmitted across generations on psychological, emotional, and narrative levels, while also discussing theoretical approaches that suggest the possibility of its biological transmission.

The study sought to explore the impact of inherited trauma on the formation of identity, family relationships, and the enduring presence of the past in the lives of subsequent generations. It also highlighted the role of repression, familial silence, and unresolved memories in perpetuating traumatic experiences across generations.

The thesis adopted a qualitative research methodology based on close reading and critical textual analysis, drawing on trauma theory, psychoanalytic theory, and memory studies. The findings concluded that O’Farrell portrays trauma as a persistent force that continues to shape subsequent generations through hidden suffering, familial silence, and fragmented narrative structures.