The Power of Myth: Unpacking Trauma in Orhan Pamuk's The Red-Haired Woman

Abstract

Greek and Persian mythology have complete authority over the characters in the novel The Red Haired Woman (TRHW), which has a unique plot structure. Cem, the main character in the novel and his spouse are acutely aware of the myth's repetition in their own lives. The primary cause of the alterations in their mental state is their belief in myth. Orham Pamuk eloquently describes the traumatic state of some of his characters in The Red Haired Woman (TRHW). Each person experiences pain and fear as a natural part of existence. Suffering is a persistent pain that can be recognized by a person's unspoken past life. One's previous life is the source of their current pain. As a businessman, Cem leads a nice existence, but as an adult, he has no one to help or mentor him. Trauma is a type of altered mental state. The protagonists' unhappy experiences from a previous existence serve as the foundation for their altered mental states. The underlying cause of the current trauma is the anguish from the past.  Trauma is an emotional reaction to a life experience that was unanticipated. The three factors—fatherlessness, unintentional murder, and childlessness—are the main sources of misery, and they subsequently exacerbate the agony that results in traumatic neurosis. Reenacting an event while thinking about it repeatedly is known as traumatic neurosis. The current study examines specific psychological states as well as the protagonist's reactions to a number of traumatic events. Pamuk masterfully demonstrates how myth can become a cause for trauma, shaping the human experience and influencing our perceptions of fate and destiny. This paper examines the novel The Red Haired Woman from a psychological standpoint.