Trauma and postmemory in Hanói, by Adriana Lisboa

Abstract

This paper aims to analyze themes of exile, postmemory and trauma in the romance Hanói, by Adriana Lisboa (2013). Focusing on the characters Alex, Huong, Linh and Trung, we sought to investigate how trauma suffered by generations before Alex was transmitted to her. Considering that trauma suffered by those characters derives from war followed by exile, we used Edward Said’s conceptions of exile developed in his essay “Reflexões sobre o exílio” (2003). On the issues of memory, serving as a basis for comparison with postmemory studies, we used Suzan Sontag’s (2003) and Jan Assmann (1995) memory studies, which discuss collective memory, affective memory and what makes them different from each other. On postmemory studies, we used texts by Marianne Hirsch (1992, 1996, 1997 and 2008) and Beatriz Sarlo (2007). The term postmemory was coined by Marianne Hirsch and relates to every traumatic memory transmitted between generations. Our study concludes that Alex experiences the postmemory phenomenon, which derives from traumatic experiences suffered by her mother Huong and grandmother Linh, as well as the family’s friend Trung. Those characters suffered traumas caused by conflicts in Vietnam, their home country, which consequently caused their exile. Alex is the only one who was born in the United States, not speaking much of her ancestor’s language, and never seeing Vietnam in person. Still, even though her family tried not to let those memories be passed on to Alex, she sometimes either ponders voluntarily about the matter, or acts involuntary influenced by those traumatic family memories.