The Function of the Fantastic in the Works of Angela Carter and Jeanette Winterson
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THE FUNCTION OF THE FANTASTIC IN THE WORKS OF ANGELA CARTER AND JEANETTE WINTERSON A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY MİNE ÖZYURT KILIÇ IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN ENGLISH LITERATURE JUNE, 2005 Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences ---------------------------------------- Prof. Dr. Sencer Ayata Director I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy ---------------------------------------- Prof. Ph.D. Wolf König Head of the Department Foreign Language Education (FLE) This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. ---------------------------------------- Prof. Ph.D. Nursel İçöz Supervisor Examining Committee Members (first name belongs to the chairperson of the jury and the second name belongs to supervisor) Professor, Ph.D. Meral Çileli (METU, FLE) ---------------------------------------- Professor, Ph.D. Nursel İçöz (METU, FLE) ---------------------------------------- Associate Professor, Ph.D. Ünal Norman (METU, FLE) ------------------------------ Assistant Professor, Ph.D. Valerie Kennedy --------------------------------------- (Bilkent University, ELIT) Assistant Professor, Ph.D. Margaret Sönmez (METU, FLE) ------------------------------ I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are original to this work. Name, Last Name : Mine Özyurt Kılıç Signature : iii ABSTRACT THE FUNCTION OF THE FANTASTIC IN THE WORKS OF ANGELA CARTER AND JEANETTE WINTERSON Kılıç Özyurt, Mine Ph.D., Department of English Literature Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Nursel İçöz June 2005, 243 pages This study sets out from the premise that the fantastic, in the hands of the women writers with feminist awareness, can be used as a tool to subvert patriarchal gender roles that are culturally constructed. The dissertation aims at analysing the fantastic novels by Angela Carter, The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman and Nights at the Circus, and by Jeannette Winterson, The Passion and The.PowerBook as examples in which the transgression of gender roles is achieved through the use of fantastic images. The analysis of the fantastic images in these novels is confined to the definitions by Tzetvan Todorov and Rosemary Jackson. The study asserts that through an efficient use of the fantastic mode, both Carter and Winterson negate culturally dominant notions of reality, whereby they resist the cultural constructions of gender. Within the framework of this dissertation, some concepts like the New Woman, historiographic metafiction, the lesbian continuum and compulsory heterosexualism are also studied where they become indispensable to the role that the fantastic images play. Thus, this study identifies each fantastic image in the novels studied with its possible cultural and political implications so that the “un-seen” of the culture, a term suggested by Jackson, can be seen. In other words, the study concentrates on the subversive nature of the fantastic images so as to see the ways in which the rigid boundaries of the gender roles in patriarchy can be transgressed. Keywords: The Fantastic, Gender Roles, Transgression, Angela Carter, Jeanette Winterson iv ÖZ ANGELA CARTER VE JEANETTE WINTERSON’IN ROMANLARINDA FANTASTİK İMGELERİN İŞLEVLERİ Kılıç Özyurt, Mine Doktora, İngiliz Edebiyatı Bölümü Tez Yöneticisi: Prof. Dr. Nursel İçöz Haziran, 2005, 243 sayfa Bu tez Angela Carter ve Jeannette Winterson’ın romanlarında kullanılan fantastik imgelerin, ataerkil kültürün dayattığı toplumsal cinsiyet rollerini dönüştürmeye yarar biçimde kullanıldığını göstermeyi amaçlamaktadır. Tez, bu iki yazarın fantastik anlatım biçimini etkili bir şekilde kullanarak kültürel olarak baskın olan gerçeklik anlayışlarını olumsuzladıklarını, bu yolla da kültürün yapılandırdığı cinsiyet anlayışına direndiklerini savunur. Bu çalışma, bunu Carter’ın The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman ve Nights at the Circus, Winterson’ın da The Passion ve The.PowerBook romanlarını fantastik imgeler aracılığıyla cinsiyet rollerinin dar sınırlarının aşıldığı örnekler olarak çözümleyerek yapar. Çalışmanın çerçevesi içerisinde, fantastik imgelerin ayrılmaz parçası olduğu ölçüde Yeni Kadın, tarihsel roman, lezbiyen dayanışma grubu ve zorunlu heteroseksüellik gibi bazı kavramların da kısaca irdelenmesi yer alır. Bu nedenle, tez bir yandan da fantastik imgeleri, Jackson’ın “kültürün görünmeyeni” olarak adlandırdığı bazı kültürel ve politik anlamları taşımaya yarayan araçlar olarak değerlendirir. Başka bir deyişle, bu çalışma ataerkil kültürün kadınlara ve erkeklere biçtiği dar cinsiyet rollerinin nasıl aşılabileceğinin görülmesini sağlayacak biçimde, fantastik imgelerin eleştirel ve dönüştürücü yapısına odaklanır. Anahtar Kelimeler: Fantastik, Cinsiyet Rolleri, Dönüştürme, Angela Carter, Jeanette Winterson v To those courageous enough to transgress the boundaries of gender roles and To those who are not so courageous enough to do it vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am deeply indebted to Prof.Dr Nursel İçöz for all the support she gave me throughout this research. Without her belief in this study, her encouragement in times of real difficulty, and her guidance, this study would not have been finalised. I also wish to express my deepest gratitude to Assistant Professor Valerie Kennedy for her advice, criticism and insight, who shared her knowledge both as a friend and a jury member. I would also like to thank Assistant Professor Margaret Sönmez for her suggestions, ideas and criticism, which made this a better dissertation. Thanks also go to the Committee Members, Associate Professor Ünal Norman and Professor Meral Çileli for their suggestions and comments, as well as to my colleagues in the English Literature Department of Bilkent University, Sema Taşkın and Gül Kurtuluş who supported me in all stages of this study in many ways. The support of Associate Professor M. Hamit Çalışkan, Head of English Literature Department, Bilkent University, is also gratefully acknowledged. Without his reasonable timetables and course selection, this project would never have been put into practice. I also thank Ramazan Yılmaz, Aykut Akgöz and Bayram Boyraz for their technical assistance and support. Many conversations and vibrant discussions held together with my friends were sometimes the main motive behind the writing of this study: heartfelt thanks go to Pınar Sabah Kayacan and Selen Aktari for their friendship which has always motivated and enriched me. I also wish to express my gratitude for the support of M. Bülent Kılıç as an invaluable partner, a great friend and a sharp critic. His belief in this study helped me sustain in times of difficulty, and his understanding of my argument made it a more meaningful study for me both as a wife and a scholar. And without the support of my family-- Leman, Kemal, Can, Emine and Buse Özyurt-- which I cannot easily describe, I would never have started or completed this study. Many many thanks to all! vii TABLE OF CONTENTS PLAGIARISM...................................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT......................................................................................................... iv ÖZ........................................................................................................................ v DEDICATION PAGE......................................................................................... vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS................................................................................. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS..................................................................................... viii INTRODUCTION................................................................................................ 1 CHAPTER 1. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND TO THE ANALYSIS OF THE NOVELS............................................................................................ 5 1.1 The Reality Status of the Fantastic............................................................ 6 1.2 The Function of the Fantastic.................................................................... 9 1.3 The Definition of the Term “Fantastic” .................................................... 12 1.3.1 Todorov’s Definition of the Fantastic............................................... 12 1.3.2 Jackson’s Definition of the Fantastic................................................ 16 1.4 The Images of the Fantastic....................................................................... 21 1.4.1 Images of the Self............................................................................. 22 1.4.2 Images of the Other.......................................................................... 27 1.5 Gender and Gender Roles......................................................................... 29 1.5.1 The Definition of Gender................................................................. 29 1.5.2 Gender Differences.......................................................................... 33 2. ANGELA CARTER’S THE INFERNAL DESIRE MACHINES OF DOCTOR HOFFMAN.............................................................................