Strained Differentiation: Negotiating Grief with Maternal Foundations in Laird Hunt’s Neverhome

Authors

Heidie L. Raine, Cedarville University, CedarvilleFollow

Department/School of the Primary Author

English, Literature, and Modern Languages

Keywords

Psychoanalytic, feminist, differentiation, neverhome, civil war, mothers, daughters, development, trauma

DOI

10.15385/jch.2021.5.2.2

Abstract

The intertwinement of mother-daughter psyches throughout the early developmental process bonds maternal and filial parties up unto differentiation, at which point the child comes to understand her status as an individual and her mother’s status as a separate entity. However, when trauma is introduced midway through the differentiation process, this psychological phenomenon may be hindered, stunting the advanced personal development of the daughter. Abandoned by loss, she may subconsciously fall victim to repressive defenses, insufficient socialization, and destructive behaviors.

In his 2016 novel Neverhome, Laird Hunt explores these psychological factors through a traumatized and unreliable female protagonist situated in the historical context of the early Civil War. A theoretically critical reading of Hunt’s text exposes the possible psychological tendencies of one such woman through a fictionalized narrative. Authoring plentiful examples of trauma responses, Hunt constructs his protagonist to serve as an archetype of the undifferentiated, unsocialized, and repressively-hindered daughter, and he then places her in a variety of high-stress environments within the plot to highlight her trauma-derived responses.

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Recommended Citation

Raine, Heidie L. (2021) "Strained Differentiation: Negotiating Grief with Maternal Foundations in Laird Hunt’s Neverhome," Channels: Where Disciplines Meet: Vol. 5: No. 2, Article 2.
DOI: 10.15385/jch.2021.5.2.2
Available at: https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/channels/vol5/iss2/2