Therapeutic Value of Traumatic Experience in Wollstonecraft’s Maria or The Wrongs of Women

Abstract

The present research on Mary Wollstonecraft’s Maria or The Wrongs of Women explores the traumatic experience that the two female characters, Maria and Jemima has gone through with the residual memories of the series of insults, humiliations, deprivations, beatings and fatal or near-fatal disasters they have faced throughout their life under the oppressive patriarchy. Drawing upon the conceptual framework of trauma theory manly developed by Cathy Crauth and Drominic LaCapra who stress on the therapeutic nature of drama theory, the project attempts to excavate how the oral and written expression of those traumatic events helps in getting redemption from the traumatic psychology they have been living with.