THE REVIVAL OF MEDUSA IN TED HUGHES’S CHILDREN’S NOVELLA THE IRON WOMAN IN THE ECOFEMINIST CONTEXT

Abstract

British author and poet Ted Hughes’s The Iron Woman, a sequel to The Iron Man, is one of the children’s literature works awaiting to be discovered as a noteworthy ecofeminist work. The aim of this study is to explore the association between the Medusa myth and Hughes’s The Iron Woman, examining their shared roles as female resistance and empowerment within an ecofeminist context. Within the angle of gender, power dynamics and nature, the analysis reveals an innovative approach to the novella, which depicts how the imperishable mythological heroine Medusa is revived in an ecofeminist context. The study indicates how the heroines are similar to each other not only in terms of their physical features but also their insurgent natures and ways of punishing men to resist. In this regard, the study asserts that while evoking cultural awareness both for children and adults, The Iron Woman creates a reminiscent of Medusa in an ecofeminist manner. Therefore, the study sheds an ecofeminist light on the association between two female protagonists, examining the title character, the Iron Woman, as the revival of Medusa in a new context.

Keywords

• The Iron Woman
• Medusa
• Ecofeminism
• Resistance
• Nature

TED HUGHES’UN DEMIR KADIN ADLI KISA ÇOCUK ROMANINDA MEDUSA’NIN EKOFEMINIST BAĞLAMDA DİRİLİŞİ

Abstract

İngiliz yazar ve şair Ted Hughes’un “Demir Adam” adlı eserinin devamı niteliğindeki “Demir Kadın” başlıklı kısa romanı, dikkate değer bir ekofeminist eser olarak keşfedilmeyi bekleyen çocuk edebiyatı eserlerinden biridir. Bu çalışmanın amacı, Medusa efsanesi ile Hughes’un Demir Kadın başlıklı kısa romanı arasındaki ilişkiyi, ekofeminist bir bağlamda kadın direnişi ve güçlenmesi gibi ortak rollerini inceleyerek araştırmaktır. Analiz; cinsiyet, güç dinamikleri ve doğa açısından bakıldığında, ölümsüz bir mitolojik kadın kahraman olan Medusa’nın ekofeminist bir bağlamda nasıl yeniden canlandırıldığını tasvir eden kısa romana yenilikçi bir yaklaşımı ortaya koymaktadır. Çalışma, kadın kahramanların sadece fiziksel özellikleri açısından değil, aynı zamanda direnişçi doğaları ve karşı koymak için erkekleri cezalandırma biçimleri açısından da birbirlerine ne kadar benzediklerini ortaya koymaktadır. Bu bağlamda, çalışma Demir Kadın adlı kısa romanın hem çocuklarda hem de yetişkinlerde kültürel farkındalık uyandırırken ekofeminist açıdan Medusa’yı anımsattığını ileri sürmektedir. Bu nedenle çalışma, roman başlığı karakteri olan Demir Kadın’ı Medusa’nın yeni bir bağlamda yeniden canlandırılması olarak ele alarak iki kadın kahraman arasındaki bağlantıya ekofeminist bir ışık tutmaktadır.

Keywords

• Ekofeminizm
• Direniş
• Doğa

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