Last term, the central theme in ASTU was the distinction between individual and collective memory and the construction of personal and public narratives. Essentially, we worked from the outside in. This semester, we studied Freud and James, two of the most groundbreaking psychologists. We began our exploration of the psyche and how it constructs our reality and perspective of the world. In other words, we worked from the inside out. The literature we studied this term, namely Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway and Hemingway’s Big Two-Hearted River, combined several themes studied over the course of the year. My classmates wrote insightfully about the connections between the themes we have studied so far to draw incredible connections between the literature we have read.

Overall, the impact of PTSD upon individuals was a popular topic. Almost everyone considered the link between the national trauma of WW1 and the personal trauma of war, yet everyone chose to focus on different aspects. Tessa provided an especially astute observation regarding the connections between James and freud’s writing and their sociological implications. She describes memory as reenactments of previous actions which restricts individuals to perceive themselves of victims of their own fates. This extended lens that widens the individual psychological phenomena to a sociological breadth is explored more closely in other blogs.

Continuing from last terms exploration of individual versus public memory and the construction of master narratives, many blogs considered the marginalized and master narratives created within the literature we read this term. For example, Jeremy looks at personal memories as representations of collective trauma where he describes Septimus as ‘….the personification of the collapse of the imperialistic pride and power of England after the war….’ Here, Jeremy presents Septimus as the symbol of the master narrative of the martyred war veteran whilst Isabel takes on an alternate perspective where she delves into Septimus’ neglected personal trauma as shell-shock was thought to be cowardly in previous eras. Together, they display the concept of how public narratives minimise or suppress personal narratives. Additionally,  Moha explores how the use of third person writing styles and iceberg revelations demonstrate the disconnect between collective and personal memory as despite the intensity of the character’s traumas, the distance we feel due to the third-person perspective means we can never fully understand them. This was a particularly interesting link between literary structure, thematic material and its implications.

The aforementioned ideas are explored in depth in the suppression and marginalisation of specific perspectives. To begin with, Suvi does an impressive job of linking Freudian ideas of the suppression of innate drives and Woolf’s presentations of her characters’ homosocialities. She examines the relationships between Septimus and Evans and Clarissa and Sally to be close friendships derived from the suppression of homosexual drives due to the heteronormative narrative of Victorian Society. Meanwhile, Jodie and Mirella analyze the exclusion of women from the narratives of war and PTSD. Jodie draws an important link between the wives of war veterans in American Sniper and Mrs Dalloway. In both pieces, the perspective of the spouse who bears the emotional weight of a troubled husband is spotlighted thereby displaying the male-dominated narratives of war. This is important as it shows how the effects of war are widespread and go beyond the individuals affected by the war. Similarly, Mirella focuses on the gender constraints of war narratives and uniquely points out how the novel is called ‘Mrs Dalloway’ indicating that Clarissa’s position in society is defined by her husband’s name. She elaborates on the neglected perspective of the wife who struggles to help her tormented husband thereby underlining the importance of destigmatizing mental health issues. Overall, my classmates have highlight the marginalization of subordinated narratives which perpetuate societal ideals that are oppressive and fulfill Freudian theories of victims of fate.

These discussions of personal and public psychology are impactful in underlining the idea of community and the influence one person can have on a group.  The epistemological succession of narratives in our society determine the values we uphold therefore it is significant that my classmates were able to draw connections between the master narrative of WW1 and the individual perspectives created and communicated via the characters in the literature we read. The readings on Freud and James helped deepen our understanding of the complex characters and writing style of the literature we read by giving them a more leveled and modern message. Given the rising attention on mental health in the media, these explorations were imperative to our understanding of societal stigmas and the urgency to adapt them for greater communal and psychological comforts.