In this thesis I apply trauma theory to the reading of Jan Carson's magical realist novel, The Fire Starters and Nnedi Okorafor's speculative fiction novel, Who Fears Death. My application of...Show moreIn this thesis I apply trauma theory to the reading of Jan Carson's magical realist novel, The Fire Starters and Nnedi Okorafor's speculative fiction novel, Who Fears Death. My application of trauma theory focuses in particular on the fantastical bodies of the characters that feature in these two novels. I posit that in spite of their many differences, there is common ground to be found between the two novels through their shared exploration of the neglected traumatic wound as embodied by the fantastical body. I argue that both Carson and Okorafor utilise the fantastical body to disrupt dominant narratives that sublimate the traumatic wound and, furthermore, that it is through these fantastical bodies that the traumatic wound may be properly assimilated and thus allow for hopeful change. The structure of the following thesis is thus centred around the idea that these fantastical bodies may be interpreted as embodying both traumatic wound and, a hopeful change, with each chapter containing a section on body as wound and body as change.Show less
