T.C. SELCUK ÜNIVERS İTES İ SOSYAL B İLİMLER ENST İTÜSÜ İNG İLİZ D İLİ VE EDEB İYATI ANAB İLİM DALI İNG İLİZ D İLİ VE EDEB İYATI B İLİM DALI THE INNER CONFLICTS OF WOMEN IN MEENA KESHWAR KAMAL’S AND SYLVIA PLATH’S POEMS AHMAD RESHAD JAMALYAR YÜKSEK L İSANS TEZ İ Danı şman Yrd Doc. Dr. SEMA ZAFER SÜMER KONYA- 2011 T.C. SELÇUK ÜN İVERS İTES İ Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Müdürlü ğü Adı Soyadı Ahmad Reshad JAMALYAR Numarası 094208001002 Ana Bilim / Bilim Dalı Ingiliz Dili ve Edebiyat Programı Tezli Yüksek Lisans Doktora Tez Danışmanı Yrd. Doc. Dr. Sema Zafer SÜMER MEENA KESHWAR KAMAL VE SYLVIA PLATH ŞİİRLERİNDE Tezin Adı KADINLAR IN IÇ ÇATIŞMALARI Öğrencinin Öğrencinin ÖZET Bu çalı şma iki kadın şair Meena Keshwar Kmala ve Sylvia Plath açisından, İngiliz ve Farsça dillerindeki farklılıkları da gözeterek kadınnın iç çatı şmasını incelemektedir. Bu çalı şmada, iç çati şma, duygu, özgürlük, kadınlar ve şiirlerin analizleri detaylı bir şekilde incelenmektedir. Meena Keshwar Kamal ve Sylvia Plath’ın şiir seçkılerınde hayatlarındaki duygu ve problemleri ifade etme hususunda neredeyse ayn ı duygular vardır. Bu şairlerin şiirlerine baktı ğımız zaman, özgürlük ve çatı şmayı duygularında ifade etmekte benzer bir üsluba sahip olduklarını görürüz. Yazdıkları şiirler gerçe ği aydınlatma noktasında ortak görü şü payla ştıkları için, şiir sanatı açısınd an ba şkalarının daha derin bir şekilde takdirini kazanmak için psikolojik açıdan göz önüne alınmı ştır. Hem Kamal hem de Plath’ın nazmında, ruha tekabül eden güçlü kaynaklar olarak kadın çatı şmasının, özgürlü ğün ve ayrımcılı ğın yararlı i şlevler vardır. Daha sı, dilleri oldukça yalın ve anlamlı, ve her birinin şiirinde, şiirlerini çalı şırken temel korku olarak hizmet eden hayat ve insan arzuları arasında bir ili şki bulunmaktadır. i Bu tezin amacı, şairlerin nasıl gerçek hayatlarında aynı dü şüncelere sahip olduklarını ve seçilen şiirlerde aynı duyguları ifade ettiklerini ke şfetmektir. Bu tez giri ş ve sonuç bölümleri dı şında dört bölümden olu şmaktadır. Birinci bölüm Afganistan ve farklı rejimler sırasında kadının karanlık ça ğı hakkındadır. İkinci bölümde McCarthycilik Dönemi ve American Kadınının ya şamı incelenecektir. Üçüncü bölüm her iki yazarın yaşam öyküleri ve edebi çalı şmalarını açıklayacaktır. Sonuç olarak, ula ştı ğım derleme neticesinde, iki yazar farklı kültürlerden olmalarına ra ğmen, bran şları ve duyguları aynıdır. Yanılsama, özgürlük, ayrımcılık ve toplumdan çatı şma gibi benzer duygulara i şaret etmektedirler. Tezi yazma sürecinde kullanmı ş oldu ğum yöntem ve analizlerin okuyucunun şiir sanatını takdir etmesine ve zevk almasına yardım etmesini temenni etmekteyim. ii T.C. SELÇUK ÜN İVERS İTES İ Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Müdürlü ğü Adı Soyadı Ahmad Reshad JAMALYAR Numarası 094208001002 Ana Bilim / Bilim Dalı Ingiliz Dili ve Edebiyat Programı Tezli Yüksek Lisans Doktora Tez Danışmanı Yrd. Doc. Dr. Sema Zafer SÜMER THE INNER CONFLICTS OF WOMEN IN MEENA KESHWAR Tezin Adı KAMAL’S AND SYLVIA PLATH’S POMES Öğrencinin Öğrencinin ABSTRACT This study examines the inner conflict of women from the aspect of two female poets Meena Keshwar Kamal, and Sylvia Plath, considering the varieties of English and Persian languages. In this work, different elements such as inner conflict, emotion, freedom , women and critical analyses of the poems are studied in detail. Meena Keshwar Kamal’s and Sylvia Plath’s collection of poems are almost have the same essence in expressing their feeling and problems from their life. These poets have a similar style in e xpressing their feeling about freedom and conflict by referring to poetry. Since the poems that they wrote share common point of view in enlightening the truth, they have been considered from psychological angle to enable others in order to have a deeper appreciation for their poetry. In both Kamal’s and Plath’s poetry, there are useful functions of women conflict, freedom, and discrimination as a powerful sources which refers to the soul. Moreover, their iii language is very simple and meaningful and in each of their poetry there has been found a relation between life and human aspiration which served as the main fear in studying their poetry. The main aim of this thesis is to discover how the two poets have similar thoughts in their own life and by stating the same feelings in the selected poems. This thesis consists of four chapters apart from the Introduction and Conclusion. This first chapter is about Afghanistan and dark era of women during different regime. In second chapter McCarthyism period and life of American women will be studied. The third chapter will explain the biography and literary works of both poets. Finally, in the conclusion, I have reached a blend that although the two poets are from different culture and come from different religion; their major and feelings are the same. They point to a similar sense of experience such as illusion, freedom, discrimination and conflict from their society. I hope the methods and analysis that I have used during writing this thesis will help the reader in order to appreciate and enjoy the poetry. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTON………………………………………………………….…………………....1 CHPATER ONE- THE DARK ERA OF WOMEN IN AFGHANISTAN………………....4 1.1.THE IDEOLOGY OF TALIBAN………………………………………………9 1.2.WOMEN IN TALIBAN REGIME…………………………………………….15 CHAPTER TWO- MCCARTHYISM PERIOD AND THE SITUATION OF WOMEN IN AMERICA……………………………………………………………………………..……...27 2.1. THE LEGACY OF MCCARTHYISM…………………………………………….41 2.2. VICTIMS OF MCCARTHYISM AND CRITICAL REACTIONS……………….45 CHAPTER THREE- BACKGROUND TO POETS……………………………………...…50 3.1. MEENA KESHWAR KAMAL AS A SOCIAL ACTIVIST AND POET………....50 3.2. SYLIVA PLATH AS A SOCIAL ACTIVIST AND POET………………………..54 CHAPTER FOUR- THE REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN IN MEENA KESHWAR KAMAL’S AND SYLVIA PLATH’S POEMS………………………………………….…...64 4.1. The Women’s Issue in Meena Keshwar Kamal’s Poem………………………….....64 4.1.1 “I Will Never Return”…………………………………………………..……...64 4.1.2. “Freedom and Democracy”……………………………………………..……..66 4.1.3. “For Women of Afghanistan”…………………………………………..……..68 4.1.4 “Arise Oh Women”……………………………………………………..…...…70 4.1.5. “How Would It Feel”…………………………………………….……..….….73 4.2. The Women’s Issue in Sylvia Plath’s Poems…………….…………...……………..76 4.2.1. “Lady Lazarus”……………………………………………………..………...76 4.2.2. “Daddy”…………………………………………………………………..…..80 4.2.3. “Mirror”…………………………………………………………………...….86 v 4.2.4. “Mystic”……………………………………………….………………….…..94 4.2.5. “The Moon and The Yew Tree”…………………………………………….100 CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………………………..106 BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………...……………………………………………..….……108 vi INTRODUCTION Sylvia Plath’s and Meena Keshwar Kamal’s poetry have had a far reaching influence on both readers and writers since their premature death. It is valuable for its stylistic accomplishment, bringing together as it does traditional poetic forms with experimental. Both of them concern with problems such as gender conflicts, sexual inequality, inner conflict of women and discrimination against women are expressed, particularly in the remarkable poems which were written shortly before their death. This thesis examines the inner conflict of women by focusing and analyzing Plath’s and Kamal’s poem and how they are victimized by the social standards which established by their male counterpart. Although Plath’s and Kamal’s personal experiences of marriage and being a female artist in a world dominated by men made them feel both betrayed and powerless, the poetry is not about themselves. Rather, it expresses universal values and concerns on behalf of their fellow human. The anger and pain that comes through in their work is for the benefit of those of us who suffer dispossession, or battle against established mores that leave us feeling both importent and vulnerable. We must not, however, mistake their outspokenness on issues that affect women as a platform for feminist ideals. Kamal predates the women’s revolution of the late 1970s and 1980s under her concerns are much more inclusive than such a limited application would suggest. 1 This thesis is divided into four chapters, the first chapter gives information about the history and the dark situation of women in Afghanistan and how they suffered during different regime. As it’s clear that nowhere else has a war on women been witnessed as starkly as in Afghanistan. Flagrant abuses of Afghan women’s most basic human rights the sectors of education, health, civil and political participation have been widely documented. The Taliban have been the perpetrators of these injustices, but violence against both men and women in Afghanistan has been ongoing for over two decades. Chapter two examined the period of McCarthyism and women in America by refereeing to the theory of John McCarthy. This term has its origins in the United States and known as the Second Red Scare, and characterized by heightened fears of communist influence on American institutions and espionage by Soviet agents. During the McCarthy era, thousands of Americans were accused of being communists or communist sympathizers and became the subject of aggressive investigations and questioning before government or private-industry panels, committees and agencies. The substantive chapter three analyzed the life story and literary works of Sylvia Plath, and Meena Keshwar Kamal. This part of thesis will point out the similarity of both poets that how they suffer from being women in their society. The final section will give the answer of cerebral, inner conflict of the love and hate of women in the poetry of