Caryl Churchill'in “A Number” Oyununda Baba Kimliği ve Çocuk Klonlamanın Posthüman Çerçevede Yeniden Tanımlanması

Year 2025, Volume: 42 Issue: 2

Kanan Aghasiyev

https://doi.org/10.32600/huefd.1601241

Abstract

Caryl Churchill’in “A Number” (2002) adlı oyunu, Salter adında bir baba ile onun “orijinal” ve klon oğulları arasındaki ilişkiyi tasvir etmektedir. Alkol bağımlısı olan Salter, eşi öldükten iki yıl sonra “orijinal” çocuğu Bernard’a (oyunda B1 olarak geçer) bakmayı reddeder ve onu bir çocuk bakım merkezine gönderir. Salter’in çocuğunu sosyal bakım merkezine göndermesinin temel nedeni, annenin ölümünden sonra çocuğun istismara ve ihmale uğraması, ayrıca eskiden olduğu kadar zeki ve “hoş” görünmemesidir. Bu nedenle, Bernard’a (B1) bakmak yerine, Salter “orijinal” çocuğunu klonlamaya ve B1’in kopyasına bakmaya karar verir. Ancak, doktorlar yalnızca bir klon değil, B1’in yirmi klonunu yaratır; bu klonlar oyunda B2 ve Michael Black olarak adlandırılır. Bu bağlamda, oyunun olay örgüsü dikkate alınarak, bu makalenin temel amacı, olay örgüsünü posthümanist bir perspektiften incelemek ve bilim ve teknolojinin insanlığı ve insan olmanın gerçek özünü tehdit ederken yakın gelecekte yol açabileceği olası zararları belirlemektir. Bu araştırma, “A Number” adlı eserin insan klonlama ve genetik araştırmaları, posthümanist bir distopyaya geçişin potansiyel tetikleyicileri olarak nasıl ele aldığını incelemektedir. Bu bilimsel ilerlemeler, ilk etapta insanlığın gelişimine fayda sağlayacak gibi görünse de, nihayetinde distopik bir dönüşüme, daha spesifik olarak, posthümanist bir distopyaya, zemin hazırlayabilir.

Keywords

Caryl Churchill , A Number , posthümanizm , insan klonlama , distopya

Redefining Fatherhood and Child Cloning in the Posthuman World of Caryl Churchill’s 'A Number'

Abstract

Carly Churchill’s play A Number (2002) depicts the relationship between a father named Salter and his original and clone sons. Salter, being an alcoholic addict, refuses to look after his “original” child named Bernard (B1 in the play) and sends him to a childcare centre two years after the death of his wife. The main reason that he sends his child to the social care centre is due to the fact that the child becomes abused and neglected, and does not seem to be intelligent and “pleasing” as he used to be once the mother was alive. Thus, instead of taking care of Bernard (B1), the father decides to clone his “original” child and look after the copy of B1. However, the doctors do not make one clone, but twenty clones of B1, who are named B2 and Michael Black in the play. Taking the play’s plot into account, the main purpose of this article is to look at the plot from a posthumanist perspective and determine the possible damages of science and technology in the near future, while threatening humanity and the real essence of being a human. Thus, this research explores how A Number examines human cloning and genetic research as potential catalysts for a shift towards a posthumanist dystopia. While these scientific advancements may initially seem to benefit humanity’s development, they could ultimately pave the way for a dystopian transformation, or, more precisely, a posthumanist dystopia.

Keywords

Carly Churchill , A Number , posthumanism , human cloning , dystopia

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