The Appearance and Effects of Trauma on the Brain, Body, and Works of Art
- Parker Coyne
- Sep 23, 2025
- 7 min read
First off, the idea of abuse is a rather uncomfortable topic for the majority to talk about. If one were to bring up their personal experiences with abuse, it can cause the mood of the conversation to become awkward without knowing how to reply–a common phenomenon when uncomfortable topics are brought up in conversation. It’s incredibly difficult for abuse victims to speak up, outright saying, “I’ve been abused!” because this brings up residual feelings of said abuse and trauma, is horrifically inappropriate for most public settings, and downright unheard of. However, speaking about abuse is one of the only ways to really help the victim themselves–by allowing them to talk about it. This can help with identifying when, where, and how they became victims to abuse or see patterns where they wouldn’t have on their own. This also just allows the victim to feel less alone in their situation and can be a great way to deter suicide in abuse victims.
How would one make abuse a normal topic of conversation?
Well, that’s complicatedly easy, actually: just talk about it. It’s not as abnormal or uncommon as it would seem. Domestic violence alone affects 10 million of the United States population each year–arguably an isolated instance of abuse or continuous form of such (National Library of Medicine).
Domestic violence is the most common form of abuse as it’s less likely to be a randomized crime, but not impossible–and so that 10 million isn’t even everyone. Yet, this is an incredibly difficult topic for most anyone to talk about–and it is difficult to talk about, there is no argument against that.
It’s uncomfortable to hear about acts of violence, it’s uncomfortable to hear how they were inflicted onto someone else, especially someone who might be close. It may be easier to talk about prominent figures who have gone through some situations as a proxy.
To start off, talking about Virginia Woolf as an abuse victim comes easier when speaking of an older time period and that there is no dispute that Woolf was abused–she admitted to it early on in life and her symptoms matched that of someone who suffered early onset trauma, no questions asked by most of the literary psychology community in the United States.
Sara Culver, a proficient professor in women’s studies, literature, and mythology who spoke with the psychology department at Grand Valley State University, had a lot to say regarding Woolf, and expressed how the abused author had portrayed mental breakdowns and other episodes tying directly to emotional and sexual abuse reactions–something that would be hard to ignore in anyone with an interest and education in psychology.
Culver’s first statement in her analysis of Woolf’s psyche comments, “Virginia Woolf's mental breakdowns should not be interpreted-as they have often been in the past-as evidence that she was over-sensitive and under-equipped for the normal shocks of life; or even that she was fundamentally unsound or somehow deficient in character” (Culver).
While Culver depicts the differences in critique on Woolf of her “inheriting” mental illness, being overly sensitive, or more sympathetic critiques still accusing Woolf of sensitivity just to be sensitive, Culver then states, “While Woolf had certainly inherited a hypersensitive temperament, there is no reason to suppose she inherited mental illness. It is more plausible to assume that the responsibility for her emotional problems must be borne by those who abused her incestuously- her half-brothers-and by those who allowed this to happen.” while describing that Woolf’s reactions and behavior match that of other incest survivors.
As a child, Woolf was victim to sexual abuse and assault before she even could comprehend what sexual acts were. This sort of abuse is common for women, and incestual abuse was common for women in Woolf’s era–being seen more as property and being under male “ownership” in many ways in the late 19th century.
Woolf’s openness in the experiences she went through allowed other abuse victims to find a form of sisterhood almost–allowing another victim to feel less alone. Loren Kleiman, a successfully published poet and nonfiction writer whose writing centers around motherhood, loss, love, and living in the aftermath of said trauma (Psychology Today), shares how studying her thesis in Sussex, England where Woolf was born and died unveiled her own trauma and allowed her to face it and understand it better.
At some point, Kleiman even says, “Once I went on this journey with Woolf, I could not return. I was her companion; bringing forth the notion that no one should have to go through such pain alone. She spoke. I listened.” (Kleiman, Ploughshares) to describe this said sisterhood and bond between Kleiman and Woolf’s recording of her history with trauma and abuse.
Kleiman then describes her own encounter of sexual assault and says, “Like many survivors of sexual violence, including rape, molestation, and assault, silence was a way of life. How could I get someone to listen to me? And if I did, who would believe me if I spoke? Would my rape be real?” to describe her confusion, shame, and struggle with sharing her situation. Because of Woolf’s own testimony about her assault, Kleiman found the strength to talk about it–but her main worry was that talking about it would make it real. However, her rape was real. Regardless of her ability to talk about it or not–she was experiencing the aftermath of it. Just like Woolf. Woolf’s works represent her own reactions to her abuse and trauma before and after acknowledging it to the public. Kleiman even identifies that her own trauma showed up in her writing and research regardless of trying to keep it separate.
This is a timeless situation. Trauma showing up in art, especially writing, transcends time. It shows up similarly for the victims regardless of timing, regardless of talking about it or not. However, Kleiman feeling bonded with Woolf and was able to actually talk about and confront her rape helps her find some sort of peace and be able to communicate what sort of help she needs. This allows her not to feel alone–and that’s why talking about it is just so important.
Moving forward, Edgar Allan Poe is more controversial on whether Poe suffered abuse and what his mental health issues were stemmed from.
Was it abuse? Was it just hereditary? Was it just his own decisions? Was Poe traumatized but not abused?
These are valid questions and notably cannot be solved. Poe is dead, there is no way to truly find the source. However, the signs are there that can point to either direction. The definition of abuse is flexible depending on the type of abuse that may be happening. According to the JED foundation, a foundation funded to help those being affected by abuse, abuse is “when someone uses their behavior or influence over another person to cause harm or to exert power over them, especially when that behavior is repeated regularly.” and that could arguably be how Poe’s relationship with his foster father was like.
Apparently, according to most historical and psychology sites, Poe’s foster father withheld praise from Poe even though he desperately tried to seek validation from him time and time again. There could be analysis after analysis on whether this is abuse or not–but it seems as though, if Poe’s foster father did it purposefully (which he most likely did), that is a form of abuse as it is the influence over Poe that is being repeatedly used to exert power.
What would the foster father lose if he had shown praise to Poe even if it were to just instill confidence? He would lose his power and authority for that given time.
However, symptoms of being a victim of abuse also contain, “Behavioral symptoms of abuse can include: increased agitation or anxiety, changes in sleep patterns, increased drug or alcohol usage, over apologizing, inability to keep up with work or school, fear, or talking about suicide. People who suffer from abuse may also become more distant” (JED Foundation).
This fits both Poe and Woolf–but for the sake of the argument for Poe, this fits well. Poe exhibits his anxiety and agitation in most of his horror works and short stories, Poe struggled with gambling, drug addictions, and copious alcohol abuse, and so much more that could be tied to the abandonment of his real father and abuse of his foster father. This is more subtle and mysterious and hard to explain and come to a complete conclusion–Poe is dead, no one can ask him.
But his behaviors show that there might’ve been abuse that, of course, the public would overlook because Edgar Allan Poe was a man and male victims are ignored more. It goes against “manliness” for men to be seen as abused, emotional, or sensitive in any sort of way. Poe’s need for approval from his foster father and being unable to attain it may be viewed as “weak” in many people’s eyes. However, Poe exhibited extremely similar symptoms as Woolf where both were diagnosed by different psychologist scholars throughout different colleges as potentially bipolar.
Not only is this alarming that both artists are being diagnosed this way, but both have deep roots in childhood trauma and abuse. This can also be argued that Poe and Woolf are being misdiagnosed as bipolar and are both actually suffering from Borderline Personality Disorder, a newer illness that is trauma and abuse caused that usually is misdiagnosed as bipolar (I Hate You Don’t Leave Me).
Both authors experienced chronic depression, psychotic breaks, hypomania, mood swings, and found ways to write about said experiences. These similarities are too closely related and appear that they may have deep-seeded roots in the abuse both authors experienced.
References
Culver, Sara "Virginia Woolf as an Incest Survivor," Grand Valley Review: Vol. 6: Iss. 1, Article 18. 1990.
Huecker, Martin R. “Domestic Violence” National Library of Medicine. Kevin C. King; Gary A. Jordan; William Smock. StatPearls Publishing LLC. ISBN NBK499891. Updated 9 April, 2023. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK499891/
Kleinman, Loren. “Virginia Woolf and the Language of Trauma.” Ploughshares at Emerson College. Critical Essays. January 20, 2018.
Straus, Hal and Jerold J. Kreisman I Hate You Don't Leave Me. TarcherPerigee. 1989. Updated, Third Edition Dec 7, 2010. 978-0399536212.
Sussex Publishers, LLC. “About Loren Kleinman.” Psychology Today. Updated 2025. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/contributors/loren-kleinman
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