Sexual trauma is a difficult topic to depict in art because it can be both emotionally taxing for artists and audiences.
Some playwrights have found ways to write about this issue in a way that is both powerful and thoughtful. This essay will explore how playwrights have used narrative and performative strategies to depict sexual trauma and recovery.
Narrative Strategies
When writing about sexual trauma, playwrights often use narrative strategies to create a sense of immediacy and authenticity. One common strategy is to tell the story through the perspective of the victim, allowing readers to see the event from their point of view. This can help readers understand the emotional impact of the trauma and the complexity of the healing process.
In Sarah Ruhl's "In the Next Room," the main character, Dr. Givings, struggles to connect with his wife after witnessing her giving birth to another man's child. The play uses flashbacks to reveal his past experiences as a Civil War soldier, which helps explain his behavior and provide insight into his pain.
Another narrative strategy is to show the impact of sexual trauma on other characters in the story. In "The Vagina Monologues" by Eve Ensler, different women share their stories of sexual assault and abuse, each of which affects them differently. By showing how these events ripple outward, the play highlights the far-reaching consequences of sexual violence. Similarly, in "A Raisin in the Sun" by Lorraine Hansberry, the Younger family grapples with the aftermath of racial discrimination and sexual trauma, leading to conflict within the household.
Performative Strategies
Playwrights also use performative strategies to bring the emotions of sexual trauma to life onstage. One way they do this is through physicality, using body language or movement to convey emotion. In "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time," Christopher Boone's autism makes it difficult for him to express himself verbally, but his movements tell the audience everything they need to know about his inner world. His father also has difficulty communicating due to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), making him an even more complex character.
Another performative strategy is to incorporate music or sound effects into the production. In "Angels in America," composer Tom Waits uses haunting melodies to underscore the pain and isolation of several characters, particularly Prior Walter, who is dying from AIDS. The effect is chilling and helps audiences understand the emotional weight of these characters' experiences.
Playwrights have found a number of effective ways to depict sexual trauma and recovery through narrative and performative strategies. Whether it's telling the story from the victim's perspective, showing how it affects other characters, or using music and movement, these techniques can help audiences connect with difficult material and gain new insights into human experience.
How do playwrights depict sexual trauma and recovery as narrative and performative strategies?
In recent years, there has been an increasing awareness of the prevalence of sexual trauma among individuals from all walks of life. While the effects of sexual trauma can be devastating for victims, many playwrights have begun to explore these experiences through their works. In doing so, they employ various narrative and performative strategies to depict sexual trauma and the process of recovery.