Room

Content Warning: This section contains depictions of rape, violence, suicide, child endangerment, abuse through neglect, and imprisonment.

As Room is a novel about a woman and her son escaping traumatic confinement by a sexually abusive man, the theme of trauma and its impact weighs heavily in Room’s pages, communicating the idea that trauma can have lasting, permanent effects on people who experience it. This idea is communicated through the mental and physical experiences of Ma, as well as the mental experiences of Jack.

Ma is the primary character for the impact of trauma theme, particularly in the latter half of the novel after she and Jack have escaped Room. Physically, Ma has several indications of her time in Room. Ma’s teeth are rotten from dental neglect, so in Chapter 4, she must get them worked on. The painful process of dental work represents the painful process of healing from trauma. Likewise, Ma’s wrist, which Old Nick broke, will “probably need to be broken again at some point” (166) so it can heal properly. This painful physical recovery from the trauma of Old Nick’s violence mirrors how painful mental recovery is from trauma.

Ma’s trauma is most evident in Chapter 4 during her interactions with police and hospital staff. One example of this is Ma’s reaction to closed and locked doors. Ma expresses, “‘Don’t shut it,’ […] very fast to Officer Oh going out” (160) at the precinct, and at the clinic, when Jack asks if they are locked in, Ma “nearly barks” her “no” answer (191). Ma’s intense reaction to closed and locked doors shows how she is affected by the years she spent locked in a single room.

Ma works on processing her trauma with Dr. Clay and Noreen, who encourage her to keep journals. Ma’s conversations with Dr. Clay and Noreen revolve around things like “tachycardia and re-experiencing” (180), and “depersonalization and jamais vu” (193). Though Jack does not hear the full conversations, it is evident that Ma is experiencing the aftereffects of trauma. Ma’s residual trauma becomes too much for her when she performs her first television interview and her methods of raising Jack are called into question. Ma breaks down crying, and the following day, Jack finds, “She doesn’t switch on, she doesn’t groan or even roll over” (248) and notices her empty pill bottle, indicating Ma has attempted suicide.

Jack also experiences trauma, but he does not understand it. Jack’s trauma presents in the form of night terrors. Jack often wakes up to Ma or Grandma comforting him, implying that he is sleeping restlessly or loudly while having these dreams. Jack’s dreams reflect the trauma he went through when escaping Room, the anxieties he is experiencing in the new world, and his concerns about being able to be near Ma. Through Ma’s post-traumatic experiences and Jack’s nightmares, the idea that traumatic events leave lasting damage that is difficult to heal is developed, showing the full extent of the impact of trauma on survivors of traumatic events.