Abstract
Summary Is “trauma” a viable category in literary theory? That is, could “trauma” be articulated in such a way that, in addition to its acknowledged diagnostic and therapeutic function in psychology and psychoanalysis, it may be shown to have a distinct hermeneutic function where literary fiction is concerned – regarding the generation of the narrative thread, for example? This article investigates these questions in the light of the meaning of “trauma”, largely in relation to the event of September 11, as formulated by Jacques Derrida. The affinity of Derrida's conceptualisation with that of Lacanian psychoanalysis is noted, and with that in mind, the narrative complications of Josephine Hart's The Reconstructionist (2002) are examined with a view to demonstrating the theoretical, heuristic and hermeneutic value of “trauma” at an intratextual level.
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