Trauma and Fairy Tales in Lonely Castle in the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura

Abstract

This article deals with the metaphoric representation of childhood traumatic experiences through references to European fairy tales in the novel Lonely Castle in the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura, “an innovative and tender blend of social commentary and magical realism” as defined by Riyoko Shibe. The paper traces the different ways the author incorporates European fairy tales and introduces the fantastic to describe the traumatic experiences of the children who went through severe bullying at school. The article attempts to demonstrate that these references serve both as symbolic representations of these experiences and as an escape from them, as they provide a metaphorical means to deal with the psychological distress.

Keywords

• fairy tale
• the fantastic
• bullying
• representation
• traumatic experience