Theses supervised by Doç. Dr. Catherıne Macmıllan
11 theses · Yeditepe University
Myths of women in contemporary dystopian novels: Louise O'Neill's "Only Ever Yours", Christina Dalcher's "Vox", and Leni Zumas's "Red Clocks"
The present Master's thesis aims to develop a better understanding of how patriarchial myths of femininity have affected female characters in contemporary feminist dystopian literature. The term "Dystopia" was first used in the late 19th century in opposition to Utopia. Eventually, dystopian as well as utopian novels began to be written by female writers, and their aim was not only to challenge utopian literature but to voice concerns regarding women's issues. The first of these novels was arguably Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale (1985), which went on to have an important impact on feminist dystopian literature. In this context, this thesis will focus on three contemporary novels, Only Ever Yours (2014), Red Clocks (2018) and Vox (2018), which will be analysed from a feminist perspective, based primarily, although not exclusively, on Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex (1949).
"What is at stake in a literature?" investigation of the postmodern in Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse-Five" and "Cat's Cradle" from a Lyotardian perspective
This study aims to explore how Kurt Vonnegut's works fit into Lyotard's view of postmodern art and "what is at stake in a literature." Departing from the similarities in their approach to issue of literary representation, two of Vonnegut's novels, Slaughterhouse-Five and Cat's Cradle are investigated from a Lyotardian perspective. Taken in the context of trauma literature, Slaughterhouse-Five focuses on the problem of representation on an individual level in terms of "the differend." Cat's Cradle deconstructs the metanarratives of science and religion, and explores the possibility of presentation based on alternative, "petit récit" that do not conform to the established discourses. The theoretical framework of the dissertation is built on Lyotard's ideas about the postmodern and the postmodern aesthetics as the aesthetic of the sublime sentiment, as influenced by Kantian philosophy, Freudian meta-psychology and Wittgenstein's theory of 'language games'.
Transgenerational Trauma and Fetishism in Alice Walker's "Everyday Use" and Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye
This thesis analyzes transgenerational trauma in the African American context and fetishistic attachments developed as a coping mechanism to overcome transgenerational traumas. It is a fact that the history of people of African origin in the United States is marked by a centuries-long suffering from slavery, violent oppression, discrimination, and racism, which meant that generations were born into this system in which they have been heavily traumatized. The gravity and the longitude of the situation created a cycle of trauma where current generations, without having suffered from these conditions first-hand, show signs of a traumatic legacy that can be explained by the transmission of trauma within groups of people with the same identity markers. As a result of inherited traumas, a pattern of psychosocial and behavioral effects can be observed such as a lack of self-esteem, racist socialization, or a pervasive feeling of anger. As with any trauma, transgenerational traumas call for coping mechanisms. In certain works of African American literature, a pattern of fetishistic attachments can be observed as a coping mechanism for inherited traumas. By developing fetishistic attachments to arbitrary objects and using them as props, characters try to overcome destructive outcomes of their traumatic legacies. Two important works of African American literature where this transgenerational trauma and the resulting fetishism can be observed are Alice Walker's "Everyday Use" and Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye. The thesis presents a detailed research on transgenerational trauma and fetishism and examines how the characters display fetishistic attachments due to their inherited traumas.
The stigma of the fallen woman in the novels of Jude the Obscure and Yeryüzünde Bir Melek
Regardless of the cultural differences, the 19th century Victorian England and Tanzimat Period in Ottoman Empire had similar expectations from women. The two novelists from these two countries, Thomas Hardy and Ahmet Mithat Efendi, had critical attitude towards such expectations. Thus they created socially unacceptable but acceptable for them heroines. Afterall, for some Sue Bridehead is Hardy's main focus and similarly for Ahmet Mithat Raziye is still an angel. The reason why these two heroines are unacceptable for the society's of their days is intriguing. Considering all these, the aim of this thesis is to discuss these two heroines through the lens of stigma of the fallen woman so that why these heroines experince exclusion may be discussed. While doing this Erving Goffman's ideas regarding stigma along with Stafford&Scott's arguments on how stigma and norms are related; and Link&Phelan's writing on stigma and its connection to negative stereotypes will be used. Key Words: Victorian England, Tanzimat Era, Erving Goffman, stigma, fallen women, Sue Bridehead, Raziye
Seslerin hikayeleri: İlyada'nın üç çağdaş yeniden yazımında Heteroglossia kavramı
The present thesis aims to explore the revisionist mythmaking tradition in the context of a study of three contemporary novels which revisit and deconstruct Homer's epic tale The Iliad. On this basis, the thesis will use Bakhtin's theory of Heteroglossia and its engagement with polyphony and the dialogic to analyze An Iliad by Alessandro Baricco, The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker, and For The Most Beautiful by Emily Hauser. In the first chapter, the theoretical framework of this thesis will be put forward, primarily Bakhtin's concept of heteroglossia in conjunction with revisionist mythmaking theory; the focus, then, will mainly be on Bakhtin's 'Discourse in the Novel', together with the perspectives of various revisionist authors and literary critics. The theoretical chapter will continue with a discussion of Bakhtin's 'Epic and Novel'. The subsequent three chapters of this thesis analyse the three contemporary novels mentioned above, each of which seeks to rewrite The Iliad from a different perspective, thus showing the other side of the medallion of the traditional myth. Accordingly, this thesis will investigate the structure of the three rewritings through different narrative voices and explore how they deconstruct and reconstruct myth by creating new utterances to emphasize the interaction between the classic and the contemporary. Key Words: mythology, revisionist mythmaking, deconstruction, contemporary fiction, rewriting, epic, novel, heteroglossia, polyphony, dialogism
Woman as victimized or victimizer? : Analysing female characters' experience in Atwood's "Penelopiad", Le Guin's "Lavinia", and George's "Helen of Troy"
This thesis examines three rewritings of the classical epics from a female perspective, by analysing their stories of survival in the patriarchal system and of gender inequalities, with a focus on depictions of women's sexuality as a commodified object and on how women play the roles both of victim and victimizer in a male dominated society. The first chapter explores Margaret Atwood's The Penelopiad, a rewriting of Homer's Odyssey from the perspective of Penelope and her twelve nameless maidens, who are the protagonists of the novella. Notably, the commodification and victimization of both Penelope and her maidens, and the dysfunctional sisterhood between them are explored. The second chapter focuses on Ursula K. Le Guin's Lavinia, a rewriting of Vergil's Aeneid from the perspective of Aeneas' wife Lavinia, who shares her narrative power with Vergil, the poet and her creator. In particular, the hostile relationship between Lavinia and her mother is examined in the context of victimization, along with her married life and her experience of motherhood. Margaret George's Helen of Troy, a rewriting of Homer's Iliad, is analyzed in the third chapter; in particular, Helen's double role as victim and victimizer is discussed, while her experiences are explored from the perspective of commodification, as are those of the Trojan women, who victimized sexually and psychologically in the patriarchal system. Key Words: mythology, rewriting, women's writing, subjectivity, women's sexuality, commodification, victimizer, victimized, gender, sex, feminism, patriarchy
Schopenhauer's pessimism in Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge, Jude the Obscure and Tess of the D'urbervilles
This study aims to explore Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge, Jude the Obscure and Tess of the D'Urbervilles from the perspective of Schopenhauer's pessimism. The thesis thus adopts an interdisciplinary approach as it explores the connections between philosophy and literature. The thesis presents the main principles of Schopenhauer's philosophy and discusses its effect on Victorian English society and literature in an era which was already marked by pessimism. In this context, an examination of the impact of Schopenhauer's philosophy on Hardy's work is carried out through a close reading of the three novels mentioned above.
Disclosing the "Other(s)" in Elif Shafak's The Island of Missing Trees and Christy Lefteri's Songbirds
This thesis aims to explore two contemporary novels, Elif Shafak's The Island of Missing Trees and Christy Lefteri's Songbirds by using Mikhail Bakhtin's theoretical framework on language and the novel. The Bakhtinian concepts of heteroglossia, polyphony, and dialogism are used to unveil the different viewpoints which emerge through the utterances of the narrators and characters. The first aim of the thesis is to disclose the viewpoints which consider certain groups or entities as "other(s)". The second aim is to analyze these viewpoints by employing ecocritical and ecofeminist theories. Ecocritical analysis of both novels reveals that nature and everything related to it is being othered. By using ecofeminist theories, this study also aims to show that in both novels, there are ideologies which support anthropocentric behaviours, regarding certain groups as others. Through both analyses, the thesis claims that in The Island of Missing Trees and in Songbirds, nature, women, underprivileged individuals, female immigrant workers, and nonhuman entities are depicted as inferior others in a society marked by patriarchy and anthropocentrism.
The duality of body and mind in gilgamesh and selected modern works
Now that human beings are complicated and awkward individuals both physically and psychologically, human nature is similarly hard to understand and thus, this subject has become a great issue that has been extensively discussed through long ages. Within this framework, the conflict between body and soul/ mind is examined through this thesis on the grounds of Plato's theory that explores the differences between body and soul. Moreover, main question is that which one is the determinant: body or soul. Plato justifies the supremacy of soul over body by using metaphors and strong logical views in the form of dialogue which strengthens statements. In the context of body and soul, Plato deals with matters of justice, virtue, goodness, morality and truth that all form the ideal soul for the sake of attaining philosophical knowledge. Body that is limited to illusions of the physical world is an obstacle for soul which can reach the territory of the Forms/ Ideas suggested by Plato. This theoretical framework is principally explored through Plato's Republic that contains all the terms and subjects stated above within itself. The theory of Plato is going to be applied to the works of an ancient myth, The Epic of Gilgamesh and its modern rewriting, The Transposed Heads by a German author, Thomas Mann in the perspective of a comparative study. The research question of the dichotomy between body and soul is analyzed and worked through the different natures of the main characters and their complementary characteristics like body and soul in both works. Key words: body, soul, knowledge, human nature, Plato, wisdom, morality
The uncanny in Helen Oyeyemi's Icarus Girl and White is for Witching
Freud in his prominent 1919 essay "The Uncanny" thoroughly explores the uncanny phenomenon and it's manifestations in real life events as well as in works of fiction. This eerie experience is created by the commingling of the familiar and the unfamiliar and it can present itself in a variety of ways ranging from haunted houses, ghosts and dismembered limbs to in-betweenness and otherness. As a result of the occurence of an uncanny incident, the onlooker undergoes feelings of unease, fear and terror. This thesis aims to explore the uncanny events depicted in Helen Oyeyemi's the Icarus Girl and White is for Witching, as they contain many components which are associated with the uncanny. The novels will be examined extensively through the lens of Freud and his predecessor Jentsch's theories as well as Kristeva and Homi Bhabha's postcolonial and cultural perspective. The thesis will focus on the otherworldly elements portrayed in the novel such as inanimate sentient characters, ghosts and doubles. Subsequently, the traces of post-colonialism and Oyeyemi's critique of Birtish nationalism will be commented on in light of the uncanny theory. This large-scale research will inspect all examples of the uncanny in these two novels, without merely focusing on one aspect of the phenomenon along with linking real life events with the events of the novels.
The closed society and its lowdown: The role of deception in the maintenance of individual survival in Orwell's 1984 and Atwood's the handmaid's tale
Philosophical arguments on morality have long "excommunicated" a realist and reasonable approach that, unsurprisingly we come across almost every day, both in our social milieu and in our own lives. When people feel that truthful statements or sincere behaviour will somehow risk or harm their personal well-being, they resort to deception. Then, instead of searching and endeavouring to comprehend the reasons behind it, why do we still condemn those who are forced to apply it? This thesis, having in the background this precursory question, attempts to account for the causes of this necessary and at times obligatory form of demeanour, which, in closed societies, is a most beneficial device for the survival of the individual and the preservation of personal space. It examines Orwell's 1984 and Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale as two totalitarian dystopias, and the societies they depict, according to Popper's "open society" theory, while connecting the factors behind the phenomenon of deception to Kuran's concept of "preference falsification". Although these two narratives deal with different types of oppression, they indicate the same result: the inevitability of deception under force. As 1984 reveals the nightmare of a totalitarian regime caused by the IngSoc Party, the Gileadean Republic in The Handmaid's Tale threatens primarily women with its fundamentalist attitude. However, while utilizing a variety of deceptive conduct, the characters in the former novel observe the survivalist and individualist tendencies in a more balanced way, the characters in the latter avail themselves of deception primarily for life-and-death issues. Key words: deception, closed society, totalitarian, survival, individualist