FICTION AS REBELLION: ANARCHY, POWER, AND NARRATIVE CONTROL IN MURIEL SPARK’S THE BALLAD OF PECKHAM RYE (1960), THE DRIVER’S SEAT (1970) AND A FAR CRY FROM KENSINGTON (1988)

Abstract

Muriel Spark’s fiction explores the interplay between anarchy, power, and narrative control, often challenging traditional moral and social structures. In The Driver’s Seat, A Far Cry from Kensington, and The Ballad of Peckham Rye, Spark’s protagonists act as disruptive forces within rigid institutions, undermining authority through defiance, manipulation, and self-determination. These characters, whether through acts of rebellion, artistic control, or moral ambiguity, expose the fragility of hierarchical systems and the instability of conventional morality. Spark’s works reject bourgeois values, ridiculing those in positions of power while embracing the macabre and the absurd. Her protagonists, assert dominance over their narratives, yet their autonomy is always precarious, shaped by external forces that seek to impose order. Through irony, ambiguity, and structural subversion, Spark crafts narratives that resist singular interpretations, reinforcing her vision of fiction as an arena where control is simultaneously asserted and undermined. This article examines how Spark’s use of anarchic protagonists and destabilizing narrative techniques serves as a critique of authority, morality, and the limits of personal agency.

Keywords

• Muriel Spark
• anarchy
• narrative control
• authority
• resistance

İSYAN OLARAK KURGU: MURIEL SPARK’IN THE BALLAD OF PECKHAM RYE (1960), THE DRIVER’S SEAT (1970), VE A FAR CRY FROM KENSINGTON (1988) ROMANLARINDA ANARŞİ, İKTİDAR VE ANLATI KONTROLÜ

Öz

Muriel Spark’ın kurgusu, anarşi, güç ve anlatı kontrolü arasındaki etkileşimi araştırır ve sıklıkla geleneksel ahlaki ve toplumsal yapılara meydan okur. The Driver’s Seat, A Far Cry from Kensington ve The Ballad of Peckham Rye’da Spark’ın başkahramanları, meydan okuma, manipülasyon ve kendi kaderini tayin etme yoluyla otoriteyi baltalayan, katı kurumlar içinde yıkıcı güçler olarak hareket eder. Bu karakterler, isyan, sanatsal kontrol veya ahlaki belirsizlik eylemleri yoluyla hiyerarşik sistemlerin kırılganlığını ve geleneksel ahlakın istikrarsızlığını ortaya koyar. Spark’ın eserleri burjuva değerlerini reddeder, korkunç ve absürt olanı benimserken iktidardakilerle alay eder. Başkahramanları, anlatıları üzerinde hakimiyet kurarlar, ancak özerklikleri her zaman istikrarsızdır ve düzeni empoze etmeye çalışan dış güçler tarafından şekillendirilir. Spark, ironi, belirsizlik ve yapısal altüst oluş yoluyla, tekil yorumlara direnen anlatılar üretiyor ve kurguyu, kontrolün aynı anda hem iddia edildiği hem de zayıflatıldığı bir alan olarak görme vizyonunu güçlendiriyor. Bu makale, Spark'ın anarşik kahramanlar ve istikrarsızlaştırıcı anlatı tekniklerini kullanmasının, otorite, ahlak ve kişisel faaliyetin sınırlarına yönelik bir eleştiri olarak nasıl hizmet ettiğini inceliyor.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Muriel Spark
• anarşi
• anlatı kontrolü
• otorite
• direnç

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