Author(s): Srishti Mitra, Manjari Johri

Abstract: This paper explores the themes of trauma, motherhood, and self-narration as portrayed in Arundhati Roy's Mother Mary Comes to Me, a memoir that traces the author’s personal and emotional story and her connection with her mother, Mary Roy. The paper aims to show how trauma in the text is not described directly but is expressed through Roy’s silence to her mother’s aggression. This research also highlights self-narration, showing how Roy uses her personal memories and reflections to narrate her story in her own voice. To understand the generational trauma imposed on Mrs Roy and then Arundhati and her brother shaping their self- perception, identity and future actions, this research draws on Cathy Caruth’s trauma theory as discussed in Unclaimed Experience. This theoretical framework allows the study to analyse how unprocessed trauma is carried across time and generations.

Keywords: Memoir, Trauma, Motherhood, Self-Narration, Aggression, Silence

Article Info: Received: 22 Feb 2026; Received in revised form: 27 Mar 2026; Accepted: 30 Mar 2026; Available online: 03 Apr 2026

DOI: 10.22161/ijels.112.48