NARRATING TRAUMA AND EMPOWERMENT: A LITERARY ANALYSIS OF “SOMEONE LIKE HER” BY AWAIS KHAN

Abstract

This paper will provide a critical literary and textual response to the novel Someone Like Her by Awais Khan in 
terms of its expression of the complexities of trauma and feminine empowerment in a modern Pakistani socio
cultural setting. Based on the interdisciplinary approaches, mostly Trauma theory by Cary Caruth’s, recovery by 
Judith Herman and power theory by Michael Foucault, the study explores the narrative practices where personal 
and collective trauma is produced, negotiated, and transformed into a place of resistance and agency. Qualitative 
textual analysis is used in the study to investigate how the characters have been characterized, their narrative 
voice, symbolism and constructions of themes with particular emphasis on the psychological and social 
development of the protagonist. It challenges the manner in which traumatized as a result of gender based 
violence, marginalization in the society, and patriarchal oppression are not just presented as victimhood but re
defined as a source of self-realization and empowerment. The analysis also places the novel in the wider context 
of South Asian feminist literature, and how it contributes towards the undermining of the prevailing discourse 
which silences voices of women. This study hypothesizes that Someone Like Her redefines the empowerment 
concept as multifaceted, non-linear process, which is affected by both internal healing and external socio-cultural 
factors by foreshadowing the synthesis of both trauma and resilience. The work is a contribution to the literature 
field in terms of broadening the critical discourse on literature on trauma in Pakistani English fiction and the 
importance of literature as a transformative platform to express the marginalized identity and create a socio
cultural consciousness.