Potraga za identitetom ženskih likova u romanima Ajris Merdok Odrubljena glava i Bjekstvo od čarobnjaka

Abstract

U ovom radu data je socijalna, psihološka i kulturna kontekstualizacija potrage za identitetom ženskih likova u romanima Ajris Merdok Bjekstvo od čarobnjaka (The Flight from the Enchanter) i Odrubljena glava (A Severed Head). Oba romana se karakterišu izuzetno složenim muško-ženskim odnosima predstavljenim uz mnoštvo filozofskih, mitoloških i psiholoških referenci. U njima se obrañuje dolazak do slobode i moralno ispravnih izbora; spoznaja do koje se postepeno dolazi o tome koja ograničenja postoje i pred likovima ovih romana i pred nama samima, kao i koja je cijena svakog poteza koji napravimo i po nas i po ljude koji nas okružuju. Uz jaku karakterizaciju likova, ljudsko iskustvo se sagledava na složeniji način nego što je to najčešće slučaj u savremenim romanima. Pratimo u kom smislu se potraga za identitetom ženskih likova u njima podudara sa socijalnim, psihološkim i kulturnim karakteristikama vremena i društva u kome one žive i rade, tj. u kojoj mjeri su društvene promjene prilika ili, pak, prepreka razvoju njihovog sopstvenog identiteta, a sve to u svjetlu, izmeñu ostalih, egzistencijalističkih dilema o otuñenju i beznačajnosti. Pri tome se koristimo relevantnim književnim teorijama koje je postavila Merdokova, po kojima pri oblikovanju stvarnosti književnost i umjetnost moraju da dovedu do stvaranja novih moralnih koncepata i do pronalaženja svoje svrhe u društvu. Osim njenog, pozivamo se i na mišljenja književnih kritičara, biografa i njenih savremenika i literarnih nasljednika o njenom radu, uz korišćenje relevantnih socioloških i psiholoških teorija, sa posebnim osvrtom na teorije Žaka Lakana i koncept Frojdove psihoanalize. Upotrebom uporedno-analitičkih metoda, cilj nam je da postignemo sintezu teorijskih znanja o problemu identiteta ženskih likova u...

The subject of this Thesis is the social, psychological and cultural contextualization of the search for identity of the female characters in Iris Murdoch’s novels The Flight from the Enchanter and A Severed Head. Both novels are characterized by extremely complex male-female relations, which are presented by means of numerous philosophical, mythological and psychological references. These novels deal with the ways of obtaining freedom and making morally acceptable choices in life; their characters and thus ourselves learn gradually what obstacles life has imposed on us. The other realization reached is what effects each move we make may have on ourselves and other people. Since the natures of the elaborately made characters of these novels are complex and multifold, the human experience thereby presented is much more complex than it is usually the case with other contemporary novels. In this Thesis, we examine the extent to which the search for identity of Murdoch’s female characters in these novels is in line with the social, psychological and cultural characteristics of the age and society that they live in and to which extent that society provides opportunities for or sets obstacles before these characters’ identity development. This analysis is done by drawing on the relevant existentialist dilemmas on alienation and feeling of personal insignificance in the contemporary world, as well as by using the appropriate literary theories set either by Murdoch herself or the literary critics of her work. We also draw on the opinions of her biographers and her literary successors, as well as use relevant sociological and psychological theories. The special emphasis is put on Jacques Lacan’s theories and Freud’s concept of psychoanalysis. By using comparative-analytical methods, our goal is to make the synthesis of the theoretical knowledge on the female characters’ identity issues present in the literary theory of Iris Murdoch and in the critics’ reception of her work, whereby this will be primarily achieved by applying sociological and psychological analysis of the novels chosen in this Thesis...