Echoes of Suffering: Trauma and Healing in Zoulfa Katouh's as long as the lemon trees grow through Cathy Caruth's Trauma Theory

Abstract

Zoulfa Katouh’s As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow offers a poignant exploration of personal and collective trauma against the backdrop of the Syrian revolution. This paper employs Cathy Caruth’s trauma theory to examine how trauma manifests in the protagonist’s fractured memory, temporal disorientation, and psychological doubling. The paper argues that trauma in Katouh’s novel is not only a product of physical violence but also of moral conflict, survivor’s guilt, and forced displacement. Healing, although partial and uncertain, emerges through acts of testimony, memory reconstruction, and connection with others. This study contributes to trauma discourse by illustrating how contemporary war literature provides a platform for voicing unspeakable suffering while offering a model for witnessing and recovery.