COGNITIVE MECHANISMS OF TRAUMA RECONSTRUCTION IN HEATHER MORRIS’S NOVEL THE TATTOOIST OF AUSCHWITZ
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32782/folium/2026.9.3Keywords:
cognitive linguistics, trauma, Holocaust, conceptual metaphor, conceptual integration, embodied cognitionAbstract
The article investigates the linguo-cognitive mechanisms for representing the traumatic experience of the Holocaust in contemporary fictional discourse, specifically within H. Morris’s novel The Tattooist of Auschwitz. The relevance of the study is driven by the need to reinterpret Holocaust literature not only as historical testimony but as a complex process of mental construction regarding the limit-experiences of human existence. The methodological framework constitutes an integrated approach that combines the Conceptual Metaphor Theory of G. Lakoff and M. Johnson, the Conceptual Integration Theory of G. Fauconnier and M. Turner, as well as developments in trauma studies and embodied cognition. The study identifies the somatic metaphor ‘Identity is Ink’ as the central node of trauma reconstruction, marking an ontological shift from subjectivity to an industrial unit of inventory. It is established that the description of the tattooing process activates the ‘Invasion of a Container’ image schema, where the physical body serves as a ledger of violence. Special attention is paid to conceptual blending mechanisms that enable the protagonist to integrate the polar mental spaces of the ‘artisan-artist’ and the ‘instrument of dehumanization.’ Furthermore, the functioning of basic image schemas that structure the dynamics of survival is analyzed. The Path schema is interpreted as a severed trajectory that locks the survivor into the ‘eternal present’ of trauma, while the Balance schema describes the states of cognitive dissociation and apathy as psychological defense mechanisms. The research demonstrates that love in the novel functions as an anchor, allowing the characters to navigate out of the camp’s destructive reality into the mental sanctuary of a ‘secret tomorrow.’ It is concluded that the stylistic features of Н. Morris’s text are manifestations of cognitive realism, replicating the biological algorithms of traumatic memory storage. The findings deepen the understanding of the role of embodiment and conceptual integration in the literary processing of collective and individual traumas.
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