The Ardently Willing Souls in “Middlemarch” and “Füreya”

The Ardently Willing Souls in “Middlemarch” and “Füreya”

Onur, A. Gülbün

The female novelists, George Eliot with “Middlemarch” and Ayşe Kulin with “Füreya”, have added a new scope to their own literature by creating heroines who had to witness historical, social, political and daily life events in their own country during a time of transition. The female characters Dorothea and Füreya expose an unusual intelligence in their Works with their independent spirit become the focus of attention as they are unable to accept their traditional norms imposed on them. Both characters are described as pioneers and are victimized by their husbands until they set themselves free. The characters relationship between town and country, and between landed families living in an ever diminishing feudal atmosphere are displayed within a world of intersecting interests of the newly rich class. Thus, the characters presented are more than individuals, they are both real and symbolic, both highly individual portraits and organic parts of a carefully constructed society they exist in. In many ways, they exemplify liberal humanism of their time valuing democracy, innovation and progress. An analytical approach to Kulin’s and Eliot’s narration will show that both writers have depicted their major characters from a feminist point of view to underline their hardships in a male dominated world. Although Kulin’s work in a biography of the first Turkish ceramic artist Füreya, it shifts into fiction with its fascinating scenes while Eliot’s fiction reminds the reader the life of Saint Teresa of Avila who has been a role model for many Theresas like Dorothea. The purpose of the paper is to draw attention with a close-up reading to the recurring images, themes that emerge from each heroine’s social, psychological and authentic experiences in a male dominated culture. Therefore, the paper will suggest that there is a universal patterning in the representation of women and women’s writing regardless of the socio-background in which the texts are produced.

Conference or Workshop Item
PeerReviewed

2012-05-04

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