Ancillary Trauma in the Novels of Toni Morrison

Abstract

This article explores the concept of «ancillary trauma», through which a woman character who has not been subjected to racial violence becomes traumatized through the actions of a male character who has been either psychically or emotionally damaged as a result of racist actions. While Morrison sympathizes with what the male characters endure, the texts suggest that, in many cases, these male characters lash out against the women in their lives in an attempt to emulate white masculinity. These men know that they cannot act out against the white men who oppress them; they repress their feelings of shame and humiliation, choosing rather to assert their perceived dominance over those they feel they can control— the women and children in their homes. Some of the victims of ancillary trauma go on to wreak havoc in the lives of others, while the only defence against ancillary trauma appears to be the instilling of self-worth by parents who value their children as complete human beings.