ABSTRACT
In the first two parts of this book, we were introduced to conversations about trauma and subjectivity, from a phenomenological perspective. In this chapter, we see the role of relationship in traumatic experience. This chapter is particularly interested in how a subject communicates with others. Looking at Lévinas’ interpretation of revelation and Merleau-Ponty’s understanding of bodied desire, we gain insight into how intercommunication plays a role in the storing and retrieval of trauma. Lévinas will show us that there is a limit to communication through language alone. This helps us to understand the role of silence and revelation. Merleau-Ponty, on the other hand, clarifies how the body itself communicates through its sensed interaction with the world. This phenomenology of trauma will also provide reflection on experiences of incommunicability and witness, which trauma often requires.
