Colleen Hoover’s it Ends with us: The Devastation of Abuse

Violence against women, such as sexual and physical abuse, has been addressed widely in contemporary literature, such as novels, poems and short stories. Moreover, the portrayal of gender violence has been the theme of modern literature. Although the depiction of abusive experiences is much represented in contemporary literature, domestic violence against women is not being addressed towards the consequences of traumatic experiences against women. Therefore, this paper presents the text analysis of Colleen Hoover’s ‘It Ends with Us’ in representing the trauma of the main character, Lily Bloom, through her personality, attitude and behaviour towards her relationship with her father and personal relationships. Using Murphy’s characterisation theory, a textual analysis of the text was conducted to study the character’s personality traits regarding her past trauma. This theory identifies the main character’s attitudes through the narration of Colleen Hoover. Caruth’s Theory of Trauma is also utilised to categorise the representation of trauma that the character has experienced after the analysis of the character’s behaviour patterns. The collection of traumas has been identified as the result of repeated and prolonged domestic violence and abuse. Hence, by understanding the relationship between the characterisation and past trauma of the main character, it has been found that the types of traumas are embedded through her attitude and behaviour patterns.