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<p>This article offers a new interdisciplinary analysis of Brit Bennett’s <i>The Vanishing Half</i> (2020) through the combined lenses of geotrauma and Afro-pessimism. The combination of these frameworks generates a new analytical tool for exploring themes of trauma, identity, and resilience in relation to racism—applicable not only to&#xa0;Bennett's novel&#xa0;itself but also to broader literary and cultural paradigms. Geotrauma, as an investigation of historical trauma and its associations with particular locations and communities, combined with Afro-pessimism—a theoretical construct that interrogates the social death engendered by anti-Black systems—can, in aggregate, explain the lasting effects of race, gender, and class upon the characters Bennett creates. The integrated methodology demonstrates that Mallard, the fictional village where the sisters grew up, is a microcosm representing the more significant historical determinants of African American experiences, land, heritage, and trauma. Further, this analysis illustrates that the internalized colorism within Mallard, along with the divergent life choices of the sisters, is profoundly shaped by historically grounded geographical and social contexts of segregation and racial hierarchy. By contesting Afro-pessimism within the frame of persistent anti-Black frameworks, there becomes the possibility of delving into the psychological and social impacts on characters grappling with identity and a sense of belonging within a society that sustains exclusion. This interdisciplinary paradigm now moves beyond <i>The Vanishing Half</i> to offer an in-depth tool for studying place-based trauma and anti-Blackness as shapers of recovery and identity formation across literate and real-life contexts. This study clarifies the characters’ defiance and search for meaning within oppressive structures, hence deepening the understanding of the African American experience and making prominent contributions to African American studies, trauma studies, and literary theory.</p>

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Rereading Blackness: Geotrauma and Afro-Pessimism in Brit Bennett’s The Vanishing Half

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年3月1日

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  • Alshaymaa Mohamed M. Ahmed

摘要

This article offers a new interdisciplinary analysis of Brit Bennett’s The Vanishing Half (2020) through the combined lenses of geotrauma and Afro-pessimism. The combination of these frameworks generates a new analytical tool for exploring themes of trauma, identity, and resilience in relation to racism—applicable not only to Bennett's novel itself but also to broader literary and cultural paradigms. Geotrauma, as an investigation of historical trauma and its associations with particular locations and communities, combined with Afro-pessimism—a theoretical construct that interrogates the social death engendered by anti-Black systems—can, in aggregate, explain the lasting effects of race, gender, and class upon the characters Bennett creates. The integrated methodology demonstrates that Mallard, the fictional village where the sisters grew up, is a microcosm representing the more significant historical determinants of African American experiences, land, heritage, and trauma. Further, this analysis illustrates that the internalized colorism within Mallard, along with the divergent life choices of the sisters, is profoundly shaped by historically grounded geographical and social contexts of segregation and racial hierarchy. By contesting Afro-pessimism within the frame of persistent anti-Black frameworks, there becomes the possibility of delving into the psychological and social impacts on characters grappling with identity and a sense of belonging within a society that sustains exclusion. This interdisciplinary paradigm now moves beyond The Vanishing Half to offer an in-depth tool for studying place-based trauma and anti-Blackness as shapers of recovery and identity formation across literate and real-life contexts. This study clarifies the characters’ defiance and search for meaning within oppressive structures, hence deepening the understanding of the African American experience and making prominent contributions to African American studies, trauma studies, and literary theory.