Seyedeh Fatemeh Esmaeili - MA in English Language and Literature, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran, https://orcid.org/۰۰۰۰-۰۰۰۳-۴۳۸۷-۲۵۷۳
Farah Ghaderi - Associate Professor of English Literature, English Department, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran, https://orcid.org/۰۰۰۰-۰۰۰۲-۵۳۷۷-۷۸۶۳

In the ۱۹۹۰s, the first wave of trauma theories was raised to extend the boundaries of psychological trauma studies into other fields, including literary theories and literature. Jeannette Walls (۱۹۶۰-), an American author and journalist, writes about her characters’ resistance to life’s adversities in her novels. Despite the existing studies on her most well-known novel The Glass Castle (۲۰۰۶), her other novel, The Silver Star (۲۰۱۳), has been marginalized since its publication. Thus, this study addresses The Silver Star and examines the “trauma and recovery” of the two main characters, Charlotte and Liz. It deploys Judith Herman’s trauma theory which focuses on the symptoms, effects, and recovery process of “post-traumatic stress disorder”. Following the experienced traumatic moments, Charlotte and Liz bear three main symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, including “hyperarousal”, “intrusion”, and “constriction”. As a primary effect of PTSD, they also disconnect themselves from their family and society while desperately seeking help to be recovered. The study argues that Walls represents social support as the most influential element in the “recovery” process of PTSD. The findings show that the recovery process varies according to the support that each character receives; Charlotte is not able to progress in the recovery process without receiving sufficient support from others while Liz recovers by getting enough support to construct a sense of safety.

Jeannette Walls, The Silver Star, post-traumatic stress disorder, Judith Herman, memories