Literary Representations of Shell Shock as a Result of World War I in the Works of Virginia Woolf and Ernest Hemingway

Abstract

World War I was a transformative catalyst towards the increased portrayal of psychological trauma in literary works. Neurological disorders became common within literary narratives after the war. Characters such as Septimus Smith in Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway and the works of Ernest Hemingway are just some of the examples. This is significant because it provided returning soldiers with representation and voices to educate society of the problem. This article will focus on the representation of the neurological manifestations of trauma as a result of WWI. A voice was given to the millions of soldiers returning from the front experiencing shell shock and depression. Specifically, this article explores the portrayals of neurological trauma through the characters in Virginia Woolf's novels To The Lighthouse and Mrs. Dalloway and Ernest Hemingway's novels A Farewell to Arms and The Sun Also Rises.