Child exploitation and positive personal growth in arthur golden’s Memoirs of a Geisha (1997)

Abstract

This research investigates the positive legacy of trauma inherited from the different forms of exploitation in Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha (1997), taking the novel's main character as a case of study. The study is based on the assumption that adversity helps to build one's personality, as highlighted by Tedeschi and Calhoun's positive psychological theory of Post Traumatic Growth (PTG). It also sheds light on the shift from negative input to positive outcome as it positively affects children rather than adults, and the useful role of suffering in making them purposeful, helpful individuals in society