Climate-Induced Trauma and the 4Fs: Theoretical Perspectives on Jessie Greengrass’s The High House (2021)

Abstract

The impact of climate change extends beyond environmental issues to include psychological and emotional concerns. Trauma intensifies with the increasing frequency and severity of climate-related incidents. Ecological trauma arises from environmental destruction, climate disasters, and the loss of nature, affecting mental health, cultural identity, and community resilience. Exploring trauma responses in novels uncovers how characters navigate fear, loss, and survival mirroring real-life emotional struggles and adaptive behaviors. This research paper investigates the relationship between trauma studies and climate fiction through a qualitative analysis of Jessie Greengrass’s novel The High House through the lens of Somatic Experiencing theory. A close reading of this novel reveals characters’ physical as well as emotional reactions to trauma during key moments of crisis. The strategies the characters use to cope are examined and compared to real-life instances of ecological trauma. Somatic Experiencing theory is rooted in the understanding of complex emotional and physiological reactions, such as fight, flight, freeze or fawn. Ecological trauma deeply impacts children, disrupting their sense of safety and stability. Climate disasters, pollution, and habitat loss can cause anxiety, helplessness grief, and displacement. These experiences shape their emotional development, influencing mental health, resilience, and connection to nature throughout their lives. The findings suggest that the embodied experiences are critical to understanding traumatization in climate fiction and contribute to the limited body of ecological trauma research, demonstrating how literature offers unique insights into diverse responses to climate change.