Survivors of war often suffer from post-war trauma, and this “unworked” pain is transmitted to second generation survivors. Author David Bergen, in the novel, The Time In Between depicts this viscous cycle through the relationship between the protagonists, Charles and Ada Boatman. After his experience in the Vietnam War, Charles fails to put his past behind him, which persistently haunts him in the form of guilt and shame throughout the novel. This has a negative influence on Ada, Charles daughter, who is exposed to intergenerational trauma via him. Charles is unable to fulfill an “ideal” father-figure role towards his children; thus, Ada takes on the role of a caretaker within the family. A role reversal is evident in Ada and Charles relationship; …show more content…
Charles projects his feeling of guilt, shame, and insecurity onto Ada at various times in the novel. For example, in one scene, Charles explains to Ada that her mother, Sara, wasted her beauty; he reasons that everyone is born with beauty, which needs to be preserved, otherwise, once it is wasted, one cannot retrieve it back (Bergen 30). Charles displaces his cynical outlook onto Ada, as a result, she grows up with trust problems: “Years later, Ada would remember those words of caution. At the age of seventeen, when Andre Toupin, the neighbor boy, tried to touch her breasts, she told him that he could only look” (Bergen 30). Ada struggles to relate to those around her, as Charles taught her to be weary of people, she says, regarding Andre, “She did not want him wasting her beauty” (Bergen 31). Moreover, the root cause for Charles trust “issues” lies in his experience in Vietnam, where during the war he shot a harmless Vietnamese boy. It is evident that Charles finds it difficult to trust himself after this incident; thus, shifting his own guilt onto those around him. Further, Charles projects his sense of fear and anxiety onto his children. In one scene, Charles takes his children into a bunker where he tells them war stories: “He was frank in his telling and he offered them intimate details and because they were frightened they listened without protest” (Bergen 39). The “return of the repressed” is evident …show more content…
Charles represses that he killed a young boy in Vietnam, and lies to his family by claiming that he killed a man. Despite the fact that the killing of the boy was a “choiceless choice,” at the time, as the boy was a perceived threat, Charles suffers from remorse and blames himself for the incident. The guilt and shame that he feels is repressed as the distress is too severe to share with others. Having said that, these suppressed emotions find expression in alternative ways. For example, when Charles discovers that Del, his youngest daughter, and Tomas Manik are together, he is enraged. Although, later, he accepts this relationship. When he question why Tomas did not come to the house for lunch, Del says that Tomas is scared of him, this astounds Charles. Charles asks Ada: “What did he think I was going to do?” to which Ada replies, you’re unpredictable, Dad” (Bergen 53). The detachment that Charles feels from his thoughts and emotions is depicted in this scene. Charles doubts his own intentions, as he does not have control over his instincts. Moreover, those around Charles recognize his repressed anger while Charles is oblivious to his dysfunctional behaviour. For instance, his fetish for hunting and dissecting animals, which Del deems as inappropriate and strictly opposes, is a result of his repressed violence. In addition, his supressed violent streak is evident in