LILY BLOOM AND HER RADIOACTIVE MEMORY: A STUDY OF TRAUMA BONDING IN IT ENDS WITH US

Abstract

This study explores novel It Ends with Us (2016) by Colleen Hoover from the major concept of Radioactive Memory which is the umbrella term of Trauma Bond Theory. Radioactive Memory means the painful memories of past that keep affecting the person long after the original event has ended. These painful memories influence decisions and shape the person’s mind for future choices. The protagonist of novel, Lily Bloom, grows up in an abusive household by witnessing her mother’s abuse at the hands of her father. The main objective of the study is to explore Radioactive Memory under the framework of Trauma Bonding in Lily Bloom and how her past memories become radioactive in present and how she struggles against haunting past and overcomes it. For achieving these objectives, study uses descriptive qualitative approach to analyse the text by focusing on Lily’s childhood diaries, flashbacks, reversal of Atlas in her life and her chaotic inner thoughts. The study finds that Lily’s memories of her father come to the surface when she experiences violence at the hands of Ryle. She merges the voice of Ryle with the voice of her father, when he seeks apology from her. Further, Lily finds herself caught in a situation similar to her mother’s and speaks like her mother while dealing with Ryle, making the same excuses to stay in a cycle of violence she promised herself she would never enter into. Finally, these memories becomes her strength with the birth of her daughter and she chooses to leave her husband to end the generational cycle of abuse. The study concludes that It Ends with Us (2016) is significant portrayal of Trauma Bonding in contemporary fiction.