Trauma and Post- Trauma: A Reading of Angela Carter`s The Magic Toyshop

Trauma is any response to an event whether physical or psychological that a person feels it stressful. Trauma theory is usually associated withSigmund Freud`s name and the works of CathyCaruth. According to his developing views,Freud explained trauma in his works such as Studies in Hysteria, Beyond the Pleasure Principle and Moses and Monotheism. Trauma is the outcome of fright which is obsoletely unlike fear and dread, because both anticipate danger unlike fright which is a sudden experience. In Freud’s words, this is called latency;Caruth states that latency is‎“the period during which the effects of the ‎experience are not apparent”.Under the lens of trauma theory and ‏in view of the aforementioned theories and ‎concepts‏, the study will investigate Carter’s ‏The Magic Toyshop‏. The main focus of the ‏paper is on examining the mechanisms of trauma in the novel and investigating the ‏reasons of trauma and how the protagonist overcomes it.The paper primarily aims at ‏examining and exploring the tragic occurrences and the persevering efforts the ‎protagonist does to cope with trauma in her own way to fulfill growth and maturation.