Estudios Irlandeses (Mar 2022)
Violence, Vulnerability and the Overcoming of Trauma in Rachel Seiffert’s The Walk Home
Abstract
Rachel Seiffert’s The Walk Home (2014) tells the story of a Protestant Irish family living in Glasgow that has been haunted by a problematic fanaticism since the Partition of Ireland (1922). Its narrative builds an intricate family tree where its members, immersed in the vicious cycle of ethno-sectarian violence, reveal their own traumas and intrinsic frailties. Their isolation and helplessness are further exacerbated by their tendency to repress their traumatic past. However, the encounter between Lindsey and Eric, two relatives-in-law, encourages them to run away and confront the past through art respectively, thus casting some light on the unending transmission of trauma in the family. Drawing on theories of trauma and ethics (Freud 1950 [1917], 2001 [1914]; Levinas 1986, 1998 [1993]; Volkan 2001, 2017; Butler 2004; LaCapra 2014 [2001]), I will attempt to demonstrate, firstly, that the narrative form of The Walk Home performs the disruptive and repetitive symptoms of transgenerational trauma; and secondly, that the ethical encounter with the other and the recognition of a shared vulnerability transmitted through families can empower characters like Lindsey and Eric to change their lives. The analysis also considers the possibility of challenging the perpetuity of the traumas arising out of the British-Irish conflict and developing resilience through the acknowledgement of vulnerability, the need for interdependency and the heling power of artistic representation.
