traumatic arithmetic

Question

In exile, Quique had discovered that the traumatic arithmetic that melded a past and a moustache could function as proof of a set of privileged experiences, as shared as they were private, in the light of whose mysterious shadow the true socialist homeland would always exist, in the hearts of comrades and lovers, as stated in Walt Whitman’s dedication to his readers in Leaves of Grass.
what does the bold sentence mean?

Greybeard · Answer

Quique had discovered that {the traumatic arithmetic}[1] {that melded}[2] {a past}[3] and a moustache {could function as proof}[4] of a set of privileged experiences,

[1] the traumatic circumstances
[2] that mixed together
[3] some part of someone's history/past experiences
[4] was also useful as proof

Mary · Answer

The phrase traumatic arithmetic is a metaphor unique to the author.  It means that the traumas had (metaphorically) "added" (or melded) those things together.  This resultant "sum" could serve as a proof.
Sums don't normally serve as proofs, but the metaphor's pretty mixed.

traumatic arithmetic

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