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The Journey to Dialogic Self in Doris Lessing’s The Golden Notebook and The Diary of a Good Neighbour

Year 2023, Volume: 17 Issue: 1, 80 - 94, 30.06.2023
https://doi.org/10.47777/cankujhss.1239037

Abstract

The Golden Notebook (1962) and The Diary of a Good Neighbour (1983) by Doris Lessing are two novels providing insight into the perceptions of their protagonists, Anna and Janna, regarding life and self. When approached from the dialogic standpoint of Russian linguist and literary theorist Mikhail M. Bakhtin, both novels are notable with respect to the conflicts they issue between the self as a monologic outcome of life experiences, and the necessity felt for moving towards a dialogic conceptualization of self, and hence, of life. While addressing the one-sided observation an individual performs in the way she understands her self and surroundings, the novels carry a scrutinizing aspect to the psychological and social impacts of this monologic demeanor. This paper reveals how, in Lessing’s two novels, Bakhtin’s dialogic principle, and based on this, a concept of dialogic self is applicable. Analyzing the protagonists’ relations with their selves, it argues that their monologic interactions with the self and the world evolve into living, dialogic ones fed by their new perceptions.

References

  • Bakhtin, M. M., Holquist, M., and Liapunov, V. (1990). Art and answerability: Early philosophical essays (Vol. 9). University of Texas Press. Original work published in 1919.
  • Bakhtin, M. M. (1984). The dialogic imagination: Four essays. University of Texas Press.
  • Bakhtin, M. M. (1986a). “Response to a question from the Novy Mir editorial staff.” Speech genres and other late essays, 1-9. Original work published in 1979.
  • Bakhtin, M. (1986b). Toward a methodology for the human Sciences: Speech genres and Other late essays, translated by Vern W. Original work published in 1979.
  • Barnes, S. (2015). “So why write novels?” The golden notebook, Mikhail Bakhtin, and the politics of authorship. Doris Lessing’s The Golden Notebook After Fifty, 135-152.
  • Bialostosky, D. (2016). Mikhail Bakhtin: Rhetoric, poetics, dialogics, rhetoricality. Parlor Press LLC.
  • Holquist, M. (2002). Dialogism: Bakhtin and his world. Psychology Press.
  • Knapp, M. (1984). Doris Lessing. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Company.
  • Lessing, D. (1983). The diary of a good neighbour. Alfred A. Knopf Incorporated.
  • Lessing, D. (1999). The golden notebook. Harper Perennial.
  • Morson, G. S., and Emerson, C. (1990). Mikhail Bakhtin: Creation of a prosaics. Stanford University Press.
  • Pickard, S. (2021). Ageism, existential and ontological: Reviewing approaches toward the abject with the help of Millett, Hodgman, Lessing, and Roth. University of Toronto Quarterly, 90(2), 111-126.
  • Simpson, P. (2003). Language, ideology and point of view. Routledge.
  • Voloshinov, V. N., and Bachtin, M. M. (1986). Marxism and the philosophy of language. Harvard University Press. Original work published in 1929.
  • Waxman, B. F. (1985). From “Bildungsroman" To "Reifungsroman": Aging in Doris Lessing's fiction. Soundings, 318-334.
  • Waxman, B. F. (1990). From the hearth to the open road: A feminist study of aging in contemporary literature. Praeger.

Doris Lessing’in The Golden Notebook ve The Diary of a Good Neigbour Adlı Romanlarında Diyalojik Benliğe Yolculuk

Year 2023, Volume: 17 Issue: 1, 80 - 94, 30.06.2023
https://doi.org/10.47777/cankujhss.1239037

Abstract

Doris Lessing’in The Golden Notebook (1962) ve The Diary of a Good Neighbour (1983) isimli romanları, ana karakterleri Anna ve Janna’nın hayata ve benliğe yönelik algılarına ışık tutarlar. Rus dilbilimci ve edebi kuramcı Mikhail M. Bakhtin’in diyalojik bakış açısından bakıldığı zaman, her iki roman da hayat deneyimlerinin monolojik bir sonucu olarak gelişen benlik ile, diyalojik olarak oluşturulan bir benliğe, dolayısıyla da hayata geçiş için duyulan ihtiyaç arasındaki çatışmalara değinmeleri bakımından dikkat çeker. Romanlar, bireyin benliğini ve çevresini anlama yöntemindeki tek taraflı gözleme değinirken, bu monolojik tutumun psikolojik ve sosyal sonuçlarını eleştiren bir yöne de sahiptirler. Bu çalışma, Lessing’in bu iki romanında, Bakhtin’in diyalojik prensibine dayanan diyalojik benlik kavramının nasıl mümkün olduğunu ortaya koymaktadır. Ana karakterlerin kendi benlikleriyle ilişkilerini analiz ederken, benlikle ve dünyayla kurmuş oldukları monolojik etkileşimin, yeni algılarından beslenerek, yaşayan, diyalojik bir türe dönüştüğünü savunmaktadır.

References

  • Bakhtin, M. M., Holquist, M., and Liapunov, V. (1990). Art and answerability: Early philosophical essays (Vol. 9). University of Texas Press. Original work published in 1919.
  • Bakhtin, M. M. (1984). The dialogic imagination: Four essays. University of Texas Press.
  • Bakhtin, M. M. (1986a). “Response to a question from the Novy Mir editorial staff.” Speech genres and other late essays, 1-9. Original work published in 1979.
  • Bakhtin, M. (1986b). Toward a methodology for the human Sciences: Speech genres and Other late essays, translated by Vern W. Original work published in 1979.
  • Barnes, S. (2015). “So why write novels?” The golden notebook, Mikhail Bakhtin, and the politics of authorship. Doris Lessing’s The Golden Notebook After Fifty, 135-152.
  • Bialostosky, D. (2016). Mikhail Bakhtin: Rhetoric, poetics, dialogics, rhetoricality. Parlor Press LLC.
  • Holquist, M. (2002). Dialogism: Bakhtin and his world. Psychology Press.
  • Knapp, M. (1984). Doris Lessing. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Company.
  • Lessing, D. (1983). The diary of a good neighbour. Alfred A. Knopf Incorporated.
  • Lessing, D. (1999). The golden notebook. Harper Perennial.
  • Morson, G. S., and Emerson, C. (1990). Mikhail Bakhtin: Creation of a prosaics. Stanford University Press.
  • Pickard, S. (2021). Ageism, existential and ontological: Reviewing approaches toward the abject with the help of Millett, Hodgman, Lessing, and Roth. University of Toronto Quarterly, 90(2), 111-126.
  • Simpson, P. (2003). Language, ideology and point of view. Routledge.
  • Voloshinov, V. N., and Bachtin, M. M. (1986). Marxism and the philosophy of language. Harvard University Press. Original work published in 1929.
  • Waxman, B. F. (1985). From “Bildungsroman" To "Reifungsroman": Aging in Doris Lessing's fiction. Soundings, 318-334.
  • Waxman, B. F. (1990). From the hearth to the open road: A feminist study of aging in contemporary literature. Praeger.
There are 16 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Literary Studies
Journal Section Articles
Authors

Başak Çün 0000-0001-7426-3987

Publication Date June 30, 2023
Published in Issue Year 2023 Volume: 17 Issue: 1

Cite

APA Çün, B. (2023). The Journey to Dialogic Self in Doris Lessing’s The Golden Notebook and The Diary of a Good Neighbour. Cankaya University Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 17(1), 80-94. https://doi.org/10.47777/cankujhss.1239037

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