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Reflections of Ecofeminism in Doris Lessing's the Cleft

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Reflections of Ecofeminism in Doris Lessing's the Cleft REFLECTIONS OF ECOFEMINISM IN DORIS LESSING’S THE CLEFT Kübra BAYSAL Master’s Thesis English Language and Literature Department Assist. Prof. Dr. M. Başak UYSAL 2013 All Rights Reserved TURKISH REPUBLIC ATATÜRK UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE DEPARTMENT Kübra BAYSAL REFLECTIONS OF ECOFEMINISM IN DORIS LESSING’S THE CLEFT MASTER’S THESIS THESIS ADVISOR Assist. Prof. Dr. M. Başak UYSAL ERZURUM - 2013 I TABLE OF CONTENTS ÖZET ............................................................................................................................ IV ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... V ACKNOWLEDGMENT ............................................................................................. VI INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 1 PART ONE DORIS LESSING 1.1. BIOGRAPHY .......................................................................................................... 4 1.2. NOTABLE WORKS BY DORIS LESSING ...................................................... 10 1.3. INFLUENTIAL CONCEPTS IN LESSING’S CAREER ................................ 17 PART TWO FEMINISM 2.1. “HERSTORY OF FEMINISM ........................................................................... 21 2.1.1. First Wave Feminism .................................................................................. 21 2.1.2. Second Wave Feminism .............................................................................. 22 2.1.3. Third Wave Feminism ................................................................................ 23 2.2. ECOFEMINIST ECHOES ................................................................................... 24 PART THREE ECOFEMINISM 3.1. ECO/FEMINISM CORRELATION ................................................................... 27 3.2. WHAT IS ECOFEMINISM? .............................................................................. 27 3.2.1. The Oppression of Women and Nature ................................................... 31 3.2.2. The Manstream Theory ............................................................................ 33 3.2.3. The Feminine Principle ............................................................................ 35 3.2.4. Ecofeminist Principles ............................................................................... 38 3.3. THE EMERGENCE AND DEVELOPMENT OF ECOFEMINISM ............. 39 3.4. ECOFEMINISM AS A SUBDIVISION OF OTHER THEORIES ................. 42 3.5. IMPORTANT REPRESENTATIVES OF ECOFEMINISM .......................... 43 II PART FOUR THE CLEFT AS AN ECOFEMINIST NOVEL 4.1. THE FEMININE PRINCIPLE IN THE NOVEL ............................................. 49 4.1.1. Female Body and Anonymity ..................................................................... 49 4.1.2. The Concept of Violence and Crime ......................................................... 51 4.1.3. Depiction of the Patriarchal Discourse .................................................... 53 4.2. MANSTREAM THEORY APPLIED IN NARRATION ................................. 59 4.2.1. The Process of Distinction and Classification .......................................... 60 4.2.2. Women’s Position in History .................................................................... 62 4.2.3. Male Isolation and Domination ............................................................. 63 4.3. ECOFEMINIST RECONCILIATIONS IN THE CLEFT ................................ 68 4.3.1. Human Interaction with Nature ............................................................... 71 4.4. NARRATIVE QUALITIES IN THE CLEFT ..................................................... 78 4.4.1. Narrators ..................................................................................................... 78 4.4.2. Characters ................................................................................................... 79 4.4.3. Symbols in the Novel .................................................................................. 83 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................... 86 BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................... 88 CURRICULUM VITAE ............................................................................................. 90 III ÖZET YÜKSEK LİSANS TEZİ DORIS LESSING’İN THE CLEFT ADLI ESERİNDE EKOFEMİNİZMİN YANSIMALARI Kübra BAYSAL Danışman: Asistan Prof. Dr. M. Başak UYSAL 2013, 90 Sayfa Jüri: Yrd. Doç. Dr. M. Başak UYSAL (Danışman) Prof. Dr. Mehmet TAKKAÇ Doç. Dr. Ahmet BEŞE Dünyadaki önemli çevresel ve sosyal problemleri roman incelemesi yoluyla ele alan bu tez çalışması, giriş ve sonuç bölümleri dışında dört ana bölümden oluşmaktadır. Giriş kısmı, feminizmden ortaya çıkan ekofeminizm ve bu hareketin adı geçen The Cleft eseri üzerindeki yansımalarına kısa bir başlangıç niteliğindedir. Birinci bölümde, tez çalışmasına konu olan The Cleft eserinin yazarı Doris Lessing’in bu esere altyapı oluşturan özel ve edebi yaşamına vurgu yapılacaktır. İkinci bölüm, kısa bir feminizm tarihçesi vererek hareket içerisinde görülen ilk ekofeminist yaklaşımlar hakkında bilgi sağlayacaktır. Üçüncü bölüm, bu çalışmanın teorik altyapısını oluşturan ve kadınsal ve doğasal sorunları bir arada ele alarak dünyadaki kritik sorunlara çözüm bulmayı amaçlayan bir teori ve hareket olarak ekofeminizmi detaylı bir şekilde sunacaktır. Dördüncü bölümde, Doris Lessing’in The Cleft romanı eko/feminizmden etkilenen bir roman olarak teorik ve yazınsal açıdan analiz edilecek ve gerçek hayatta yaşanan ekolojik ve sosyal sorunlara bazı çözümler önerilecektir. Sonuç bölümünde ise, Lessing ve ekofeminizm teorisi üzerinden romana son bir vurgu yapılarak çalışma sona erecektir. Anahtar Kelimeler: ekofeminizm, Lessing, kadın, erkek, çevre. IV ABSTRACT MASTER’S THESIS REFLECTIONS OF ECOFEMINISM IN DORIS LESSING’S THE CLEFT Kübra BAYSAL Advisor: Assistant Prof. Dr. M. Başak UYSAL 2013, 90 Pages Jury: Asst. Prof. Dr. M. Başak UYSAL (Advisor) Prof. Dr. Mehmet TAKKAÇ Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ahmet BEŞE This thesis study which handles important environmental and social problems in the world through novel analysis consists of four main chapters apart from the introduction and conclusion parts. Introduction part makes a brief presentation of ecofeminism which has derived from feminism and the reflections of this movement on The Cleft. In the first chapter, the writer Doris Lessing’s personal and literary life shall be underlined for providing background to The Cleft which is the subject matter of this study. The second chapter shall provide information about the first ecofeminist approaches in the feminist movement by giving a brief history of feminism. Third part presents ecofeminism in detail as a movement and theory forming the theoretical context of this study and aiming to find a solution to critical problems in the world by dissecting feminine and natural problems together. In the fourth chapter, The Cleft shall be analysed in theoretical and literary aspects as a novel influenced by ecofeminism and some solutions shall be offered for ecological and social problems in daily life. In the conclusion part, the study will end by making a final emphasis on the novel through Lessing and the ecofeminist theory. Keywords: ecofeminism, Lessing, female, male, environment. V ACKNOWLEDGMENT I would like to present my high gratitudes to my thesis supervisor Assist. Prof. Dr. M. Başak UYSAL for his academic support, patience and friendliness during the period of thesis study. I am also indebted to Prof. Dr. Mukadder ERKAN first for giving me the inspiration about writing on ecofeminism and then for her academic support, encouraging attitudes and sincerity. Further, I am so grateful to my parents, Sabiha & Mehmet BAYSAL and my brothers for sharing my problems and encouraging me always for achieving the better during my academic studies and all my life. Finally, I thank my best and close friends for the helpful advice and friendly support they have offered. Erzurum – 2013 Kübra BAYSAL 1 INTRODUCTION Grown up outside Europe and Britain and nurtured by various different cultures, Doris Lessing is a popular and a marginal British writer at the same time. She has given life to many notable works and attracted different groups all around the world into her cause. Due to the social and political tension of her childhood and teenage years covering the World War I and the transition period of World War II, Lessing has adopted a strict and obvious style in her literature and created challenging pieces. As a feminist, socialist, ex-Marxist, postcolonial and most importantly an eco-friendly novelist, Lessing is appreciated by some cycles while marginalised and assaulted by other certain groups. That is the principal reason why her works have always been targeted for so many critical analyses and researches. Despite the fact that she has taken no official education, Lessing has become an inspiring example by self-educating herself and rising to the level of a successful intellectual eventually. In the early years, she spends her time reading most of the day unlike her counterparts due to the social and political circumstances during her childhood and adolescence. This turns out to be advantageous for her as she prospers her literary, political and historical
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