TRAUMA, MEMORY, AND THE CRISIS OF CONSCIOUSNESS IN DORIS LESSING’S BRIEFING FOR A DESCENT INTO HELL
Cahit Bakır
Bingöl Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi April 28, 2026 DOI: 10.29029/busbed.1816629 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Realm Consciousness Descent aeronautics Transcendental number Amnesia Exhibition Rationalism Identity music Perspective graphical Psychoanalysis Doris gastropod Object grammar Aesthetics Cosmic cancer database Poetry Existentialism Art history Nothing Literature Outer space State computer science |
| Key points | Argues that Charles's amnesia and visionary experiences in the novel express trauma and alternative forms of memory, critiquing Western rationalism and individualism while suggesting a transcendental realm of cosmic unity and collective memory. |
Abstract
This article explores Doris Lessing’s Briefing for a Descent into Hell (1971) through the lens of trauma and memory studies. Lessing’s “inner space novel” narrates the story of a Cambridge professor of Classics called Charles Watkins, who is found in a state of amnesia and taken to a psychiatric hospital to restore his former self and identity through rational and scientific methods. While in the hospital, Charles transcends the spatial and temporal boundaries of the physical world and embarks on inner journeys through cosmic voyages, apocalyptic visions, and mythic quests. This article argues that Charles’ experiences during his stay at the hospital can be characterized as expressions of trauma and alternative forms of memory. The article, from the perspective of trauma theory, interprets Charles’s amnesia as a traumatic rupture that exceeds individual experience and becomes a medium to critique Western rationalism and individualism. Through Charles’s fragmented memories and visionary journeys, the novel demonstrates how trauma shatters stable identity, disrupts linear time, subverts rationality. The article concludes that Doris Lessing in Briefing for a Descent into Hell offers glimpses of a transcendental alternative realm built on cosmic unity, collective memory, and interconnected existence.