PATRICK McCABE’İN PLÜTON’DA KAHVALTI (1998) VE JEFFREY EUGENIDES’İN MIDDLESEX (2002) ADLI ROMANLARINDA AİLE VE GÖÇ

Year 2022, Volume: 21 Issue: 1, 177 - 190, 26.01.2022

Elif Demir

https://doi.org/10.21547/jss.983948

Abstract

‘Kuir’ kelimesi heteroseksüel cinsel ikiliği dışında kalan cinsel kimlikler için kullanılan bir çatı kavramdır. Kuir yazının edebi temsillerinden İrlandalı yazar Patrick McCabe’in Plüton’da Kahvaltı (1998) eserinde Patrick erkek olarak doğar; ancak edimsel eylemlerle ‘kadınsı’ eğilimlerini besleyerek toplumda bir kadın olarak yer almak ister. Amerikan yazar Jeffrey Eugenides’in Middlesex (2002) adlı eserindeki Cal ise biyolojik olarak çift cinsiyetli doğar ve ‘erkeksi’ eğilimlerini destekleyerek toplumda erkek olarak yer almak ister. Patrick’in biyolojik ailesinin onu terk etmesi ile üvey ailesinin ve toplumsal çevresinin cinsel kimliğini reddetmesi, yaşadığı Tyreelin adlı küçük İrlanda kasabasını terk ederek Londra’ya göç etmesine yol açar. Benzer şekilde Cal de ailesinin cinsel yönelimini ‘kadın’ olarak değiştirmeye çalışması ve New York’ta tedavi amaçla götürüldüğü klinikte doktorun ve ailesinin olumsuz tutum sergilemesi üzerine San Francisco’ya göç eder. Ailelerinin cinsel kimliğini desteklememesi nedeniyle göç etmeye karar vererek gittikleri yeni uzamda cinsel kimliklerini baskı ve kısıtlamalardan uzak bir şekilde özgürce sergilerler. Birbirine yakın tarihli ve farklı coğrafyada kaleme alınmış bu eserlerde Patrick ve Cal’in benzer toplumsal koşullardan geçerek cinsel kimliklerini sergilemeleri her iki romanın da birbiriyle transkültürel bir diyalog oluşturduğu görüşünü doğurur. Bu bağlamda bu çalışma cinsel yönelimi toplumsal normlar dışında kalan iki karakterin kendilerini göç etmek zorunda bırakan faktörleri irdeleyerek her iki romanın nasıl bir transkültürel ilişki kurduğunu tartışmayı amaçlamaktadır.

Keywords

Plüton'da Kahvaltı, Middlesex, Aile, Göç, Transkültürellik

FAMILY AND DISPLACEMENT IN PATRICK McCABE'S BREAKFAST ON PLUTO (1998) AND JEFFREY EUGENIDES' MIDDLESEX (2002)

Abstract

The word ‘queer’ is an umbrella term covering genders falling outside the heterosexual binary. As one of the representations of queer literature, in Breakfast on Pluto (1998) by Irish author Patrick McCabe, Patrick is born as a male, yet he wants to take place in society as a woman by nurturing her 'feminine' tendencies with performative actions. Cal in Middlesex (2002), by American writer Jeffrey Eugenides, is biologically born with having both male and female genitals and he wants to take place in society as a man by supporting his 'masculine' tendencies. The abandonment of Patrick's biological family and the rejection of his sexual identity by his adoptive family and social circle lead him to leave the small Irish town of Tyreelin and emigrate to London. Similarly, Cal is displaced to San Francisco after his family tried to change his sexual orientation into "female" by taking him to a clinic in New York where the doctor and his family showed negative attitudes. Both are displaced because their families do not support their sexual identity, so they move away where they can freely display their sexual identity in this new space, away from any pressure or restriction. In this respect, these two novels, written in different countries and published four years apart, establish a transcultural dialogue with one another because both characters undergo a similar social predicament. In this respect, this study aims to examine the factors which force the characters falling outside of social norms to move away with a discussion of how the two novels establish a transcultural connection.

Keywords

Breakfast on Pluto, Middlesex, Family, Displacement, Transculturalism

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