Elizabeth Cary’nin The Tragedy of Mariam Oyununda Sesmerkezcilik Eleştirisi

Yıl 2024, Cilt: 18 Sayı: 2, 369 - 382, 31.12.2024

Esra Ünlü Çimen

Öz

Jacques Derrida, Batı felsefesinde sesin yazıya üstün görülmesini sesmerkezcilik (phonocentrism) olarak tanımlar ve sesmerkezciliğin sözmerkezcilikle (logocentrism) de yakından ilişkili olduğunu ifade eder. Sesmerkezci/sözmerkezci görüşe göre, ses/söz var oluşla doğrudan ilişkilidir. Logosantrik dilin kadınların dünyayı algılama biçimlerini sınırlandırdığını vurgulayan Hélène Cixous, Luce Irigaray ve Julia Kristeva gibi feminist kuramcılar kadınların bu dilin kendi yaşamları üzerindeki kısıtlayıcı etkilerinden kurtulabilmek için kendi deneyimlerini aktarabilecekleri alternatif anlatım biçimleri bulmaları gerektiğini savunurlar. Erkek egemen toplumlarda kadınların dil ile olan mücadelesi hem Elizabeth Cary’nin kendi yaşamında hem de yazarın The Tragedy of Mariam (1613) oyununda görülebilir. Şöyle ki, Cary’nin erkek egemen bir tiyatro dünyasında var olma mücadelesi oyunundaki sessiz bir kadın karakterin ataerkil bir çevrede sessizliğini kullanarak güç elde etmesinde kendini gösterir. Bu çerçevede, bu makalede, Cary’nin The Tragedy of Mariam adlı oyununda ses/yazı ikiliğinin yapıbozuma uğtarılmasıyla yazarın kendisi ve oyundaki sessiz kadın karakter için sessizliğin bir politik güç ve varoluş aracı olduğu ve bu nedenle metnin bir dişil yazın (écriture féminine) örneği olarak okunabileceği iddia edilir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

sesmerkezcilik, Derrida, Elizabeth Cary, The Tragedy of Mariam, kadın yazını

Critique of Phonocentrism in Elizabeth Cary’s The Tragedy of Mariam

Öz

According to Jacques Derrida, phonocentrism, the so-called supremacy of speech over writing, is in a close relationship with logocentrism, which is based upon male language. Phonocentric/logocentric worldview holds agency primarily as a matter of orality in that the spoken word is assumed to be offering a direct course to empowerment. Feminist theorists Hélène Cixous, Luce Irigaray and Julia Kristeva aim to show the inhibitory impacts of logocentric language on women and suggest women should find alternative ways of expression to ward off its effects, which means women should invest in new models of communication where they can construct their political agency in line with their own material experiences. Such a struggle with patriarchal oppression of women’s speech can be seen in the private life of Elizabeth Cary who was silenced by the patriarchy as a female playwright. Her closet drama The Tragedy of Mariam (1613) mirrors her theatrical quest for agency in which a silent female character achieves power in a patriarchal surrounding by means of a strategic employment of silence. Within this context, this article claims that Cary’s closet drama can be an example of écriture féminine (feminine writing) for it showcases the political potentials of silence as a strategic model of expression where both the playwright and her silent female character acquire significant positions through the deconstruction of the speech/writing dichotomy.

Anahtar Kelimeler

phonocentrism, Derrida, Elizabeth Cary, The Tragedy of Mariam, écriture féminine

Kaynakça

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