POST-WAR TRAUMA, MIGRATION, AND FEMALE IDENTITY IN KAZUO ISHIGURO'S A PALE VIEW OF HILLS

Abstract

In recent decades, trauma literature has increasingly attracted scholarly attention. A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro is a representative work within this literary tradition. Employing a literary analytical approach combined with theories of trauma, migration, and feminism, this study clarifies the structure of trauma in the novel. The findings indicate that trauma does not operate in a linear manner but rather as a layered structure. Postwar trauma forms the initial psychological foundation for Etsuko, motivating her decision to migrate; migration trauma manifests through Keiko’s sense of alienation, loneliness, and fractured identity; gender-based trauma leads Etsuko to internalize guilt, assume responsibility, and endure her tragedy as a form of self-imposed punishment. The study affirms that personal tragedy arises not only from external events such as war but also from crises of adaptation within migratory spaces and the pressures of social norms, particularly those imposed on women. Accordingly, the article contributes to elucidating how trauma is constructed and layered in the literary works of Kazuo Ishiguro