The Reflections of Mary Wollstonecraft’s a Vindication of the Rights of Woman on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudıce

Year 2020, Volume: 6 Issue: 1, 39 - 57, 01.06.2020

Atıf Can Bayram Esma Tezcan

Abstract

Feminism, the idea that supports the equality between men and women, occured in the beginning of the nineteenth century. The nineteenth century, in other words the Victorian Period, is considered as the period of conflicts especially for women and their position, as it can be seen in the works of that era. On the one hand, there are women who are oppressed by patriarchy, but on the other hand there is a group of women who raise their voices against it. Without doubt Mary Wollstonecraft is one of the pioneers of those women who are against patriarchy and her book A Vindication of the Rights of Woman is considered as one of the first recorded books of feminism. In later years Jane Austen, who is one of the distinguished female writers of English Literature, joins in that group of women by mirroring the women’s issues in her works. This writing evaluates the reflections of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman on Pride an Prejudice by Jane Austen through giving information about the status of women in the Victorian Period.

Keywords

Women, the Victorian Period, Marriage, Education, Patriarchy, Women’s Rights, Wollstonecraft, Austen

Mary Wollstonecraft’ın A vindication of the Rights of Woman adlı Eserinin jane Austen’ın Pride and Prejudice Adlı Eserine Yansımaları

Abstract

Kadınlar ve erkekler arasındaki eşitliği savunan Feminizm düşüncesi
ondokuzuncu yüzyılın başlarında ortaya çıkmıştır. Ondokuzuncu yüzyıl,
diğer bir deyişle Viktorya Dönemi, dönemin romanlarında da görüldüğü
üzere, çatışmaların ve özellikle kadınlara karşı çatışmaların yılıdır. Bir
yanda ataerkil toplum tarafından bastırılan kadınlar varken, diğer yanda
ataerkil topluma karşı sesini yükselten bir grup kadın vardır. Hiç şüphesiz
ki, Mary Wollstonecraft, ataerkil topluma karşı sesini yükselten kadınların
öncülerinden biridir ve kitabı Kadın Haklarının Gerekçeledirilmesi
(A Vindication of the Rights of Woman) feminizm’in kayda geçen ilk
kitaplarından biri olarak bilinir. Sonraki yıllarda İngiliz Edebiyatı’nın seçkin
kadın yazarlarından olan Jane Austen, eserlerinde kadınların sorunlarına
ayna tutarak bu gruba dahil olmuştur. Bu makale Kadın Haklarının
Gerekçeledirilmesi’nin Gurur ve Önyargı (Pride and Prejudice)’daki
yansımalarını Viktorya Dönemi’ndeki kadının yeri hakkında bilgi vererek
incelemektedir.Kadınlar, Viktorya Dönemi, Evlilik, Eğitim, Ataerkil
Toplum, Kadın Hakları, Wollstonecraft, Austen

Keywords

Kadınlar, Viktorya Dönemi, Eğitim, Ataerkil Toplum, Kadın Hakları, Austen

References

• Abdulhaq, Hala M. Representations of Women’s Oppressions in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, and Emma. https://radar.auctr.edu/islandora/object/cau.td%3A2016_abdulhaq_ hala_m. (14.06. 2019) Abrams, Lynn. Ideals of Womanhood in Victorian Britain. 2001. https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/trail/victorian_britain/women_home/ ideals_wo manhood_01.shtml. (27.03.2019) Armstrong, Nancy, (2001). “Gender and the Victorian Novel”, The Cambridge Companion to the Victorian Novel edited by Deirdre David. Cambridge: Cabridge University Press. Austen, Jane, (2003). Pride and Prejudice. London: Penguin Books. Brownstein, Rachel M, (1997). “Northanger Abbey, Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice”, The Cambridge Companion to Jane Austen edited by Edward Copeland and Juliet McMaster. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ___. Definition of Feminism. Merriam-Webster.com. (12.04.2019) Eagleton, Terry, (2005). The English Novel an Introduction. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. Greenblatt, Stephen, (2006). The Norton Anthoogy English Literature. New York: W.W.Norton & Company. Golemac, Andrea. Representation of Women in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Emma, and Persuasion. https://repozitorij.ffos.hr/islandora/ object/ffos%3A195/datastream/PDF/view. (14.05.2019) Harris, Jocelyn, (2009). “Jane Austen”, The Cambridge Companion to English Novelists, edited by Adrian Poole. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Leitch, Vincent B, (2010). The Norton Anthology of Theory & Criticism. New York: W.W.Norton & Company. McBeath, V.L, (2017). Less Than Equals: Part 2 of the Ambition & Destiny Series. New York: Valyn Publishing. Mill, John Stuart, (1878). The Subjection of Women. London: Longmans, Green, Reader and Dyer. Mellor, Anne K, (2002). “Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman and the Woman Writers of Her Day”, The Cambridge Companion to Mary Wollstonecraft edited by Claudia L. Johnson. Cambridge: Camridge University Press. Richardson, Alan, (2002). “Mary Wollstonecraft on Education”, The Cambridge Companion to Mary Wollstonecraft edited by Claudia L. Johnson. Cambridge: Camridge University Press. Sentiment, Sophia. http://www.theloiterer.org/ashton/women.html (06.10.2019) Tanner, Tony, (2003). Introduction of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. London: Penguin Books. Tanrıvermiş, Mihriban. Female Voice in Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice and Emma. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download? doi=10.1.1.633.2906&rep=rep1&typ e=pdf. (2 April 2019) Tennyson, Alfred Lord, (1917). The Princess. New Yok: The Macmillian Company. Todd, Janet, (1993). Introduction of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. New York: Oxford University Press-Classics. Urgan, Mina, (2018). Ingiliz Edebiyatı Tarihi. Istanbul: Yapı Kredi Publishing. Wollsronecraft, Mary, (1993). A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. New York: Oxford University Press-Classics.