Between memories and identity : How does one tell one's own story?

Title: Between memories and identity : How does one tell one's own story?
Author: Volná, Ludmila
Source document: Theory and Practice in English Studies. 2012, vol. 5, iss. 1, pp. [15]-25
Extent
[15]-25
  • ISSN
    1805-0859
Type: Article
Language
License: Not specified license
 

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Abstract(s)
The number of those who lost their lives in Czechoslovakia during the Communist regime (1948-1989) is estimated at between six and ten thousand. Those whose lives were severely damaged in different ways are numberless. The present article will concentrate on one of the latter, a person subject to persecution in the so-called "normalization" period (after 1968). When it all started for her, she was fifteen years old and finishing elementary school. This article will trace the ways in which she is now attempting to put together a coherent story of what happened to her. As she moves between her memories, her feelings, and her present condition, affected beyond recovery, she realizes that the task is not an easy one. This article will use authentic, unedited material from that person's experiences, gathered, with her permission, through a number of conversations with the present author.
References
[1] Das Leben der Anderen [The Lives of Others] (2006) Film, directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. Buena Vista Interna-tional (Germany), Sony Pictures Classics.

[2] Dcery 50. let. [Občanské sdružení usilující o zdokumentování a uveřejnění dílčích úseků dějin padesátých let minulého století] (2008–) http://www.dcery.cz/?rid=10&nbsp Last accessed 12 October 2012.

[3] Felman, Shoshana, and Dori Laub, M.D. (1992) Testimony: Crises of Witnessing in Literature, Psychoanalysis, and History. New York and London: Routledge.

[4] "K., Elisa" and Ludmila Volná (2009-2010) "Conversations, 2009-2010." Unpublished ("Elisa K." is a pseudonym).

[5] Otáhal, Milan (1994) Opozice, moc, společnost 1969-1989. Příspěvek k dějinám "normalizace" [Opposition, Power, and Society, 1969-1989: Contribution towards the History of "Normalization"]. Prague: Ústav pro soudobé dějiny/Maxdorf.

[6] Švehlová, Jana (2010) "Children of Stalinism – Different Points of View" (22 August 2010). Enemysdaughters.com. http://www.enemysdaughters.com/?nid=753&lang=en Last accessed 12 October 2010.