Abstract
Doris
Lessing, Cleft başlıklı romanında
kadınları, ilk insanlar olarak betimleyerek Yaratılış mitlerini tersine
çevirmiştir. Kadınları ilk insanlar olarak sunmasına rağmen, roman dikkatlice
okunduğunda, yazarın büyük ölçüde ataerkil cinsiyet kalıp yargılarına ve
cinsiyet rollerine yer verdiği ortaya çıkar. Bu çalışmanın amacı, yaşamının son
on yılında, yazarın cinsiyet rolü gelişimi kuramlarıyla ilgili görüşlerini
belirleyebilmek için, Cleft adlı
romandaki ataerkil içerimleri tartışmaktır. Bu romanda yazar, insan tarihinin
başlangıcındaki üç dönemi okurlarına sunar. İlk dönemde, ilk kadınlar olan
Cleftlerin tembellikleri vurgulanır. İkinci ve üçüncü dönemlerin sunumu
sırasında, okur cinsiyet rollerinin oluşumuna ve farklılaşmasına tanık olur.
Toplumsal cinsiyet rollerinin bu farklılaşması, kadın ve erkeğin doğuştan gelen
karakter özelliklerinin farklı olmasının bir sonucu olarak sunulur. Kadınların
ve erkeklerin romanda betimlenen özellikleri ataerkil cinsiyet kalıp yargısal
özelliklerle aynıdır. Böylelikle, Lessing cinsiyet kalıp yargılarının ve
rollerinin kültürel olarak oluşmadığını ve öğrenilmediğini; bunların kadın ve
erkeklerin doğuştan gelen özellikleri olduğunu göstermiş olabilir. Bu da
Lessing’in, yaşamının son on yılında, cinsiyet rollerinin oluşumuyla ilgili
sosyobiyolojik açıklamaları benimsemiş olabileceğini anıştırabilir.
References
- BASCH, Francoise (1974). Relative Creatures: Victorian Women in Society and the Novel. New York: Schocken.
- BASOW, Susan A. (1992). Gender Stereotypes and Roles. California: Brooks/Cole.
- BIEDERMANN, Hans (1996). The Wordsworth Dictionary of Symbolism. trans. James Hulbert. Hertfordshire: Wordsworth.
- BROVERMAN, Inge K. & BROVERMAN, Donald M. et al. (1970). “Sex-Role Stereotypes and Clinical Judgments of Mental Health”. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 34 (1): 1-7. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0028797 [03.03.2016].
- CANCIAN, Francesca M. & OLIKER, Stacey J. (2000). Caring and Gender. Walnut Creek: Altamira.
- COON, Dennis & MITTERER, John O. (2007). Introduction to Psychology: Gateways to Mind and Behavior USA: Thomson Wadsworth. 11th ed.
- DURKIN, Kevin (2005). “Children’s Understanding of Gender Roles in Society”. Children’s Understanding of Society. Eds. Martyn Barrett-Eithne Buchanan-Barrow. Hove: Psychology Press. 135-167.
- KITE, Mary E. & DEAUX, Kay, et al. (2008). “Gender Stereotypes”. Psychology of Women: Handbook of Issues and Theories. Eds. Florence L. Denmark and Michele A. Paludi. Westport: Praeger. 205-236. 2nd ed.
- LEE, Hermione (2009). “A Conversation with Doris Lessing”, Wasafiri, 24(3): 18-25. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02690050903069603 [15.09.2015].
- LESSING, Doris (2008). The Cleft. London: Harper Perennial.
- LETTMAIER, Saskia (2010). The Action for Breach of Promise of Marriage and the Feminine Ideal, 1800-1940. New York: OUP.
- McCLAIN, Carol S. (1995). “Reinterpreting Women in Healing Roles”. Women as Healers. ed. Carol S. McClain New Brumswick: Rutgers University Press. 1-20.
- MYLONAS, George. E. (1946). “The Eagle of Zeus”. The Classical Journal. 41(5): 203-207. http://www.jstor.org/stable 3291884 [2.12.2015].
- Nobelprize.org. “The Nobel Prize in Literature 2007”. http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/2007/ [12.11.2015].
- PRENTICE, Deborah A. & CARRANZA, Erica (2002). “What Women and Men Should Be, Shouldn’t Be, Are Allowed To Be, And Don’t Have to Be: The Contents of Prescriptive Gender Stereotypes”. Psychology of Women Quarterly. 26: 269-281. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1471-6402.t01-1-00066 [03.03.2016].
- ROUNTREE, Cathleen (2008). “A Thing of Temperament: An Interview with Doris Lessing, London, May 16, 1998”. Jung Journal: Culture and Psyche. 2 (1): 62-77. http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/jung.2008.2.1.62 [12.11.2015].
- RUSKIN, John (1906). Sesame and Lilies: Three Lectures. Leipzig: Bernard Tauchnitz.
Abstract
In her novel titled The Cleft,
Doris Lessing reverses the Creation myths by depicting women as the first
humans. Although Lessing presents women as the first humans, a close reading of
the novel displays that the writer uses to a great extent traditional gender
stereotypes and gender roles. The aim of this paper is to discuss the
patriarchal implications in The Cleft
to determine the writer’s views concerning the gender role development theories
in the last decade of her life. In the novel, the writer presents three periods
at the beginning of the history of humans. In the first period, the laziness of
the Clefts, the first women, is emphasized. During the presentation of the
second and the third periods the reader witnesses the establishment of gender
roles and gender role differentiation. This gender role differentiation is
presented as a consequence of different innate natures of females and males.
The characteristics of the females and the males depicted in the novel are the
same with patriarchal gender stereotypical traits. By doing so, Lessing may
have indicated that gender stereotypical traits and roles are not culturally
constructed, and they are not learned, but they are the inherent
characteristics of females and males. This may imply that Lessing may have
adopted the sociobiological accounts of gender role development, at least in
the last decade of her life-span.
Keywords
References
- BASCH, Francoise (1974). Relative Creatures: Victorian Women in Society and the Novel. New York: Schocken.
- BASOW, Susan A. (1992). Gender Stereotypes and Roles. California: Brooks/Cole.
- BIEDERMANN, Hans (1996). The Wordsworth Dictionary of Symbolism. trans. James Hulbert. Hertfordshire: Wordsworth.
- BROVERMAN, Inge K. & BROVERMAN, Donald M. et al. (1970). “Sex-Role Stereotypes and Clinical Judgments of Mental Health”. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 34 (1): 1-7. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0028797 [03.03.2016].
- CANCIAN, Francesca M. & OLIKER, Stacey J. (2000). Caring and Gender. Walnut Creek: Altamira.
- COON, Dennis & MITTERER, John O. (2007). Introduction to Psychology: Gateways to Mind and Behavior USA: Thomson Wadsworth. 11th ed.
- DURKIN, Kevin (2005). “Children’s Understanding of Gender Roles in Society”. Children’s Understanding of Society. Eds. Martyn Barrett-Eithne Buchanan-Barrow. Hove: Psychology Press. 135-167.
- KITE, Mary E. & DEAUX, Kay, et al. (2008). “Gender Stereotypes”. Psychology of Women: Handbook of Issues and Theories. Eds. Florence L. Denmark and Michele A. Paludi. Westport: Praeger. 205-236. 2nd ed.
- LEE, Hermione (2009). “A Conversation with Doris Lessing”, Wasafiri, 24(3): 18-25. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02690050903069603 [15.09.2015].
- LESSING, Doris (2008). The Cleft. London: Harper Perennial.
- LETTMAIER, Saskia (2010). The Action for Breach of Promise of Marriage and the Feminine Ideal, 1800-1940. New York: OUP.
- McCLAIN, Carol S. (1995). “Reinterpreting Women in Healing Roles”. Women as Healers. ed. Carol S. McClain New Brumswick: Rutgers University Press. 1-20.
- MYLONAS, George. E. (1946). “The Eagle of Zeus”. The Classical Journal. 41(5): 203-207. http://www.jstor.org/stable 3291884 [2.12.2015].
- Nobelprize.org. “The Nobel Prize in Literature 2007”. http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/2007/ [12.11.2015].
- PRENTICE, Deborah A. & CARRANZA, Erica (2002). “What Women and Men Should Be, Shouldn’t Be, Are Allowed To Be, And Don’t Have to Be: The Contents of Prescriptive Gender Stereotypes”. Psychology of Women Quarterly. 26: 269-281. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1471-6402.t01-1-00066 [03.03.2016].
- ROUNTREE, Cathleen (2008). “A Thing of Temperament: An Interview with Doris Lessing, London, May 16, 1998”. Jung Journal: Culture and Psyche. 2 (1): 62-77. http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/jung.2008.2.1.62 [12.11.2015].
- RUSKIN, John (1906). Sesame and Lilies: Three Lectures. Leipzig: Bernard Tauchnitz.
Details
| Primary Language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal Section | Articles |
| Authors | |
| Publication Date | December 18, 2016 |
| Submission Date | June 22, 2016 |
| Published in Issue | Year 2016 Issue: 36 |
Selcuk University Journal of Faculty of Letters will start accepting articles for 2025 issues on Dergipark as of September 15, 2024.