Content Warning: This section contains depictions of rape, violence, suicide, child endangerment, abuse through neglect, and imprisonment.

As Room is a novel about a woman and her son escaping traumatic confinement by a sexually abusive man, the theme of trauma and its impact weighs heavily in Room’s pages, communicating the idea that trauma can have lasting, permanent effects on people who experience it. This idea is communicated through the mental and physical experiences of Ma, as well as the mental experiences of Jack.

Ma is the primary character for the impact of trauma theme, particularly in the latter half of the novel after she and Jack have escaped Room. Physically, Ma has several indications of her time in Room. Ma’s teeth are rotten from dental neglect, so in Chapter 4, she must get them worked on. The painful process of dental work represents the painful process of healing from trauma. Likewise, Ma’s wrist, which Old Nick broke, will “probably need to be broken again at some point” (166) so it can heal properly. This painful physical recovery from the trauma of Old Nick’s violence mirrors how painful mental recovery is from trauma.

Ma’s trauma is most evident in Chapter 4 during her interactions with police and hospital staff.