Traumatic Memory in the Literary Discourse of Women Authors: The Georgian Example

In the twentieth century, the impact of historical trauma on individuals and society was immeasurably profound. The art of this period can be seen as a representational space of traumatic experience, where literature and other artistic forms reveal, interpret, and attempt to overcome the horrors associated with trauma. In fiction, the essence of traumatic memory lies in reflecting the long-term effects of traumatic experience and interpreting narratives that reveal the deep psychological consequences of trauma. One of the theoretical foundations of traumatic memory is trauma studies, which examines how traumatic events disrupt traditional narrative structures and challenge the limits of representation. Unlike ordinary memories, which are easily integrated into the historical fabric of life, traumatic memories often remain unassimilated and may involuntarily appear in the background in the form of horrifying recollections and intrusive thoughts. Traumatic memories frequently resist narrative coherence, reflecting the traumatized individual’s inability to fully process and articulate the traumatic event. Based on these theoretical perspectives, the present study analyzes the non-fiction novel by the Georgian woman author Shorena Lebanidze, The Maestro’s Return: Chronicles of the Life of Evgeni Mikeladze. In this work, the author enriches historical reality—the Bolshevik repressions carried out in the Soviet Union during the 1930s—through documentary evidence and archival materials. Lebanidze reveals lesser-known but valuable details from the life and professional activities of the chief conductor of the Tbilisi Opera, Evgeni Mikeladze, and his family. She deeply examines the reasons why they became unacceptable to the Soviet system and, like millions of others, victims of the so-called Great Terror / Great Purge.