Poststructuralist approach on the novels of women writers that deconstruct the traditional structure of detective literature (1985-2015)

The masculine elements in classical detective narratives offer a rich material to be evaluated within the framework of feminist theory. In the detective novel, which consists of a limited number of characters acting according to formulaic behaviour models, the essence of the genre is gender and male hegemony is the dominant feature of these texts. The traditional detective novel, which reproduces by maintaining and supporting a rooted understanding of female-male representations and sexual orientation differences under male hegemony, shapes the characters on the gender axis by making them independent of their biological gender in the triangle of detective, criminal, victim, and positions the only hero – the detective – in the center. It thus conveys events in a linear order from a single point of view, and ends with a natural result of the detective's certain victory. According to feminist criticism, these characteristics are masculine instruments. The genre is suitable for feminist reading due to its constant properties. Feminism reveals the dual structure of the genre by opposing the submission of stereotypes to the interlocutory mechanisms in a system where all roles and themes are invariant. Writers who want to transform the models of the crime novel from this point render the hegemonic hierarchy visible and contravene the traditional structure by subjecting it to deconstruction and transform the criteria for qualification of the genre. Thus, by replacing the rigid, prescriptive structure with a fluid and undefinable structure, they open space for differences in gender and sexual orientation; the exclusionist policies are replaced by inclusive policies and the authentic existence of individuals is highlighted. In the study, I examine eight novels written by four female authors between 1989-2014 within the scope of Turkish Literature and examine them, revealing their discrepancies with the traditional detective novel. First, I draw up a theoretical framework by providing the origin of postfeminist criticism and explaining the concepts related to this field. In the second and third sections, I emphasize the historical development of detective literature and carry out a feminist reading of the detective novel. The selected novels are examined in terms of form and content within the postfeminist critique. Key Words: Detective Fiction, Postfeminist Criticism, Deconstruction, Turkish Novel, Women's Writing