A Study of the Carnivalesque Rebellion of Eve Through Bakhtin’s Notions of the Carnival and the Grotesque Body

Yıl 2023, Sayı: 18, 1 - 19, 10.09.2023

Arpine Mızıkyan

https://doi.org/10.46250/kulturder.1313860

Cited By: 1

Öz

This study aims to explore the grotesque mode of representing the female body and bodily life in John Milton’s Paradise Lost, especially in Book IX, which is regarded to be the key book of the poem: the book of Man’s Fall. My main purpose is to display from a Bakhtinian perspective how the grotesque concept of the female body operates as a considerable way of representing the “monstrous-feminine.” That is, the female, in the character of Eve and in some places, of Sin, in relation to their femininity/maternity, deviates from the norm established by patriarchal male ideology and poses a constant threat to the male order. Predicating upon Bakhtin’s notion of the carnival in its alliance with the grotesque image of the body, I argue that although for Bakhtin, the “bodily element” of the carnival and grotesque realism dwells upon bodies in general and not upon bodies as determined by gender, the grotesque images can be associated with the feminine, particularly with those females who revolt against male domination. Thus, in this particular study, the body of the nonconformist female who stands for a fearful and threatening form of sexuality, will be discussed as “grotesque.” I also contend that in Paradise Lost, Eve, as well as Adam, by tasting the forbidden fruit, embraces a world turned upside down in which the marginalized and suppressed overthrow the order represented by God.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Adam and Eve, Paradise Lost, Bakhtin, carnival, grotesque body representations

Teşekkür

I would like to dedicate this paper to my supervisor Prof. Zeynep Ergun, who is now in Heaven. Her invaluable comments, theoretical insights, and inspirational guidance were the true source of all that is worthwhile here.

Bakhtin’in Karnaval ve Grotesk Beden Kavramları Işığında Havva’nın Karnavalesk İsyanı Üzerine Bir Çalışma

Öz

Bu çalışmanın amacı, 17. yüzyıl İngiliz Edebiyatı yazarlarından John Milton’ın Paradise Lost (Yitirilmiş Cennet) şiirini özellikle, insan ırkının düşüşünü ve bu düşüşün nedenlerini ele alan ve şiirin kilit noktası olarak düşünülen IX. Kitap’taki, Havva karakterini, Rus edebiyat ve kültür kuramcısı ve dil felsefecisi Mikhail Bakhtin’in karnaval kavramını ve karnaval ile ilişkili grotesk tanımını göz önüne alarak incelemektir. Bakhtin, Rabelais ve Dünyası adlı eserinde, grotesk gerçekçilikte, bedensel unsurun son derece olumlu olduğunu vurgular. Bu, hayatın diğer alanlarından kopuk ve mahrem olarak değil, tüm halkı temsil eden evrensel bir şey olarak sunulur. Bu makalede, Milton’ın, erkek egemen ideolojinin yaratmış olduğu düzenden sapan kadını, Havva’yı, grotesk kavramını olumsuzlaştırarak ve eserde sadece bir iki kitapta bahsi geçen, Şeytan’ın kızı ve sevgilisi olan Günah’ı, kadınlık/annelik çerçevesinde Havva ile ilişkilendirerek, canavarımsı bir kadın olarak nasıl ve neden sunduğu ele alınmaktadır. Aslında, karnaval ruhu ve grotesk gerçekçilik, kadın-erkek cinsiyet farkı ile belirlenmiş bedenleri değil de, genel anlamda bedenleri içerdiği halde; benim bu incelemedeki amacım, grotesk imgelerin, kadınla ve özellikle ataerkil ideolojinin belirlediği normlardan sapan ve erkek egemen düzene bir tehlike oluşturduğu düşünülen kadınlarla bağlantılı olarak kullanıldığını göstermektir. Bu durumda, Havva, başkaldırıcı tavrı ile bir karnaval karakteridir diyebiliriz, çünkü Baba Tanrı tarafından temsil edilen düzeni, Adem’i de kandırarak, karnavalımsı bir atmosfer içinde yerle bir eder.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Adem ve Havva, Yitirilmiş Cennet, Bakhtin, karnaval, grotesk beden temsili

Kaynakça

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