Between Presence And Absence: Whiteness As A Lens For Witnessing Trauma In The White Book

Abstract

This study analyzes Han Kang’s The White Book through the lens of trauma theory, focusing on how poetic language and recurring white imagery express grief, memory, and personal loss. Set in a foreign city, the narrative centers on the death of the narrator’s mother’s first child and examines how this early trauma echoes across generations. The novel’s fragmented structure, composed of short reflections on white objects such as swaddling cloth, snow and a burial shroud, mirrors the disjointed, often unspeakable nature of traumatic memory. Illustrating on trauma theorists such as Cathy Caruth and Shoshana Felman, this research explores how The White Book bridges the gap between personal and collective trauma between bodily experience and language. The study uses close reading to place the novel within the context of trauma studies and Korean literature. The analysis argues that Kang’s work creates a space for witnessing, mourning and the gradual healing process. Through poetic form and symbolism, The White Book allows readers to confront silence, loss, and memory, offering a powerful literary response to the emotional aftermath of trauma.