Fragmented Narratives of Trauma in Post-War Novel of Lawrence Durrell’s The Alexandria Quartet

Abstract

Post-war literature reflects the psychological, cultural, and moral scars of the WWII. Many post-war novelists chose innovative narrative forms to
express trauma, memory, and the human impact of conflict, rather than simply describing combat (Whitehead). A quintessential example of this
change is The Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence Durrell (1957–1960). This paper explores the trauma embedded within the narrative of The
Alexandria Quartet and examines the trauma represented through Durrell’s innovative techniques. Using techniques such as fragmented
chronology, differing viewpoints, and unreliable narration, Durrell attempts to capture the essence of disorientation and instability brought on by
traumatic memory (Caruth). Alexandria embodies a paradox as both a location and a suffocating space of political, cultural, and emotional disarray.
By majoring on the principal characters of the Quartet, Darley, Justine, Balthazar, Mountolive, and Clea, this study investigates the relation of
individual trauma to the historical. For Durrell, narrative experimentation is not simply a case of free play, but rather an emphasis on the ethics of
trying to account for the representation of pain in history (LaCapra). Most importantly, this study celebrates The Alexandria Quartet as one of the
early texts that addresses the postmodernist concern for trauma, and shows how literature articulates and preserves an emotional truth that is often
denied through other forms of realism.