Projecting Trauma: Parallel Narratives in Kazuo Ishiguro’s A Pale View of Hills

Abstract

In this thesis, I explore how trauma and its effects are represented in Kazuo Ishiguro’s debut novel A Pale View of Hills through its parallel narrative structure. I argue that the protagonist, Etsuko, discloses the trauma caused by her first daughter’s suicide through the psychological defence mechanism of projection. The embedded story of Sachiko, thus, creates a place for Etsuko to implicitly process the traumatic event without having to confront it and the difficult emotions it arises directly, as that could undermine her self-esteem. I explore the fundamental themes of parenting, guilt, and emotional avoidance, and how these unveil what is being projected, why and how. Additionally, by examining fractures in the narrative cohesion and Etsuko’s unreliability as a narrator, I argue that her defensive strategies, along with her unconscious thoughts, are further exposed to the reader. I apply trauma theories and psychoanalytic approaches to defence mechanisms, drawing primarily on the works of Cathy Caruth, Phebe Cramer and Laurie Vickroy, alongside perspectives from Sigmund Freud and later scholars.