Narrating the unnarratable: A temporal approach to researching violence

Narrating violence is complex. Whereas dramatic forms of violence are more readily narratable, subtle and everyday forms are often more difficult to articulate. This variation reflects a tension between dominant conceptualisations of violence as a bounded act and the ways in which those subjected to violence may experience it as cyclical or chronic. This temporal discrepancy poses a methodological challenge for qualitative research, as linear linguistic frameworks may struggle to capture the ongoing dimensions of violence. Situated within narrative victimology, this paper draws on narrative interviews with 11 women who have experienced intimate partner violence and a temporal conceptualisation of violence. The analysis attends to temporal language, including temporal markers and metaphors, to examine how violence unfolds over time in the women’s lives. It argues that working reflexively with narrative constraints and resources offers a way of approaching violence in qualitative research that is sensitive to its varying narratability.