Invasive Memory and W G Sebald’s The Emigrants (original) (raw)

Abstract

The purpose of this research paper is to critically investigate the invasive nature of memory in W. G. Sebald's The Emigrants. Sebald chooses four Jews who experienced the terror of time characterized by the sinister anti-Semitism under Hitler. Dr Henry Selwyn, Paul Bereyter, Ambrose Adelwarth and Max Ferber escaped the Nazi terror but fell, unfortunately, prey to the reconstructive power of memory. Memory recreates the past. By recreating the past, it represences it. The represencing of the past for the aforementioned characters was to remind them of the events which disfigured their sense of self, belongingness, family, etc. It was difficult for them to live in the post-holocaust period in a different country as emigrants under the unending reconfiguring power of memory. The growing sense of fear and isolation as Jewish emigrants was further exacerbated by the tormenting reincarnation of the vicious past in the domain of memory. This recurrent reconfiguration of the most terrible historical reality, which embodied complete obliteration of Jewish existence, invited derangement to the sensitive survivors. This repetitive resurrection of the events of the past in the territory of memory is called invasive because it precipitated acute restlessness among the survivors and engaged them painfully with the past. Much of their growing isolation and their suicidal tendencies emanated from the unending experience of pain occasioned by the restorative re-emergence of the past occurring in the field of memory.

FAQs

sparkles

AI

What insights does Sebald offer regarding post-war Jewish identity in The Emigrants?add

The paper reveals that Sebald explores the profound sense of alienation and disconnection experienced by Jewish emigrants, illustrating how post-war identity struggles were compounded by haunting memories of trauma and loss. This 'relentless curse' of memory shaped their existence as they navigated life far from their historical homelands.

How does memory impact the mental health of characters in Sebald's narrative?add

The findings indicate that the continual invasive recall of traumatic memories leads characters like Dr. Selwyn, Paul Bereyter, and Ambrose Adelwarth to acute depression and suicidal tendencies. Psychological burden manifested from memories fosters emotional paralysis, ultimately compromising their ability to engage meaningfully with life.

What role does seclusion play in the lives of Sebald's Jewish emigrants?add

The study shows that seclusion, exemplified by characters such as Dr. Selwyn, serves as both a refuge and a trap, reinforcing their detachment from society while intensifying their memories of trauma. This choice often exacerbates their loneliness and mental distress, leading to tragic outcomes.

How does The Emigrants address the theme of memory as a burden?add

The paper contends that memory in Sebald’s work is portrayed as a 'gift of the dead,' creating a complex interplay between remembrance and suffering. Jewish emigrants are depicted as trapped within the relentless cycle of their past, grappling with guilt and loss while seeking unachievable normalcy.

What are the implications of memory for self-identity in Sebald's characters?add

The text illustrates that memory profoundly reshapes self-identity for Sebald's characters, anchoring them to traumatic pasts that inhibit personal growth and integration into new social contexts. Their identities remain fractured, as they oscillate between nostalgia for lost homes and the realities of their dislocation.

Loading...

Loading Preview

Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.

References (18)

  1. Works Cited: Appelfeld, Aharon. "Buried Homeland". The New Yorker, November 23, 1998, pp. 48-61.
  2. Arendt, Hannah. Eichmann in Jerusalem. Penguin, 2006.
  3. Barthes, Roland. Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography. Translated by Richard Howard, Hill and Wang, 1982.
  4. Beckett, Samuel. Waiting for Godot. Pearson, 2012.
  5. Benjamin, Walter. Walter Benjamin: Selected Writings 1913-1926, edited by Marcus Bullock and Michael W Jennings, The Belknap Press, 2002.
  6. Celan, Paul. Paul Celan: Selected Poems. Translated by Michael Hamburger and Christopher Middleton, Penguin Books, 1972.
  7. Eliot. T. S. Collected Poems: 1909-1962. Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc, 1963. _________.The Cocktail Party -The Centenary Edition. Harvest Books, 1978.
  8. Frankl, Viktor. Man's Search for Meaning.Rider, 2004.
  9. Hirsch, Marianne, and Leo Spitzer. Ghosts of Home: The Afterlife of Czernowitz in Jewish Memory. University of California Press, 2010.
  10. Hoffman, Eva. After Such Knowledge: A Meditation of the Aftermath of the Holocaust. Vintage Books, 2004.
  11. Keats, John. Complete Poems and Selected Letters of John Keats. The Modern Library, 2001.
  12. Margalit, Avishai. The Ethics of Memory. Harvard University Press, 2004.
  13. Murakami, Haruki. Kafka on the Shore. Translated by Philip Gabriel, Knopf, 2005.
  14. Nabokov, Vladimir. Speak, Memory: An Autobiography Revisited. Vintage, 1989.
  15. Panda, Chandan. "Saving the dead: memory's impossible project in Austerlitz and Marginalia in Mahler". Lapis Lazuli: An International Literary Journal, vol. 9, no.1, Spring 2019, pp. 125-134.
  16. Proust, Marcel. "The Captive". In Search of Lost Time. Translated by C K Scott Moncrieff and Terence Kilmartin,Vintage Books, 2000.
  17. Sebald. W. G. Austerlitz. Translated by Anthea Bell, Penguin Books, 2011. ___________. The Emigrants. Translated by Michael Hulse, Vintage, 2011.
  18. Sontag, Susan. Regarding the Pain of Others. Picador, 2004. Bionote: Chandan Kumar Panda obtained his Ph.D degree from the EFL University, Hyderabad, India in the year 2015. He received the DAAD fellowship to pursue a short-term doctoral research for six months at Dresden University, Germany. He has presented research papers at the University of Texas, USA and Dresden University, Germany. His research papers have been published in national and international journals. Currently he is working as an Assistant Professor at the Department of English, Rajiv Gandhi University, Arunachal Pradesh, India. He can be reached at chandan.panda@rgu.ac.in