Post-Troubles writing of violence and the ethics of survival in Anna Burns’s Milkman

The Troubles fiction of Northern Ireland has evolved into a new creative tide in the twenty-first century, partly spurred by a distinct feminist upsurge and Brexit-related political anxieties. The new writings show a strong tendency to (re-)envision the Troubles through body-centred emotions and feelings, marking an affective turn in the literary portrayal of violence and vulnerability. This change is consistent with a broader shift in Irish Studies to move away from individual-focused narratives to explorations of relational interdependence and shared vulnerability. This essay uses Milkman as an exemplary text to explore the significance of such an affective turn in bringing new dimensions into trauma writing. Burns challenges stereotypical representations of vulnerability and masculinity, and in the process remaps the landscape of fear that permeates Troubles narratives. By foregrounding the key roles bodily feelings and emotions play in fostering mutual understanding and in forging responsible social bonds to ensure survival, Burns brings to light the importance of social interdependence and ethical responsibility in the process of relational survival.