Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
18th International IDEA Conference: Studies in English , Ankara, Türkiye, 13 - 15 Mayıs 2026, ss.229, (Özet Bildiri)
This study examines the representation of trauma and the breakdown of family structures in Quiara Alegría Hudes’s play Water by the Spoonful through the combined theoretical perspectives of Cathy Caruth, Judith Herman, and Marianne Hirsch. The play centers on characters whose lives have been shaped by war, addiction, poverty, and emotional abandonment. It portrays trauma not as a single event, but as a force that continues to echo across personal and familial relationships.
Drawing on Caruth’s understanding of trauma as an experience that returns in fragmented and belated forms, the analysis explores Elliot’s recurring visions and memories as expressions of unresolved injury that resist conventional narration. Herman’s work on trauma within family systems provides a framework to evaluate the collapse of trust and care in Elliot’s family, especially in relation to Odessa’s addiction and her failure to protect her children during a catastrophic moment that becomes the emotional core of the play. Hirsch’s concept of post-memory helps to illuminate the way trauma is transmitted to the next generation, shaping identities and behaviors even when the original event remains unspoken or suppressed.
Through these theoretical approaches, the paper argues that Water by the Spoonful reveals trauma as both an individual wound and a shared legacy. It depicts the family as a fragile structure in which past suffering continues to exert pressure on present relationships. Ultimately, the study aims to show that the play reimagines healing as a slow and communal process that requires both testimony and collective support.