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https://doi.org/10.31820/f.37.2.11
Family Dysfunction and Transgenerational Transmission of Trauma in the Plays Ubij se, tata by Monika Herceg and Ostanak by Hana Konsa
Marijana Jeleč
orcid.org/0000-0002-8881-3975
Iris Spajić
orcid.org/0000-0002-3435-9543
Mia Zeko Panić
orcid.org/0009-0008-2255-0843
Abstract
Aesthetic responses to ecological, political, social, and existential crises on both the macro and micro level shape the thematic horizon of recent literary production. This is confirmed by texts that, as early as the late 20th century, anticipated the shift toward narratives of collective and individual vulnerability. Within such a discourse, family, even in contemporary Croatian drama, is not depicted as a stabilizing unit of society but rather as a microcosm of crisis and a site of deeply rooted violence. In the plays Ubij se, tata by Monika Herceg and Ostanak by Hana Konsa, family as a refuge does not exist; instead, it is portrayed as a hermetic system in which trauma and violence become inherited legacies. These texts do not seek reconciliation. Rather, they depict the impossibility of overcoming inherited patterns. Both plays are structured around the characters of adult children – in Herceg’s play the central characters are three sons, while Konsa’s play features a brother and a sister. Herceg explores toxic masculinity through the patriarchal model of the violent father and the sons’ powerlessness in the face of his authority, whereas Konsa deconstructs motherhood by portraying the woman as a bearer of power and authority. Through retrospective scenes and introspective monologues, the very foundations of the parental figure are questioned, exposing layers of family dysfunction, gender rigidity, and manifestations of violence. Drawing on theoretical frameworks established by Aleida Assmann, Meera Atkinson, Judith Butler, and Cathy Caruth, this paper analyses these plays for the first time through the lens of transgenerational trauma, gender normativity, and dysfunctional patterns of family relationships. The methodological approach is based on a comparative analysis of thematic, structural, and narrative characteristics.
Keywords
contemporary drama; Monika Herceg; Hana Konsa; transgenerational trauma; crisis; violence
Hrčak ID:
342887
URI
Publication date:
31.12.2025.
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