Crossing the Borders of the Genre and Gender: Jeanette Winterson’s Redefinition of the Bildungsroman in Oranges are Not the Only Fruit

Year 2022, , 78 - 89, 15.12.2022

Dilek Ozturk Yagci

https://doi.org/10.46655/federgi.1151781

Cited By: 1

Abstract

This study focuses on the appropriation of the Bildungsroman genre in Jeanette Winterson’s first book Oranges are Not the Only Fruit (1985), a novel which is often referred to as the fictionalization of the author’s upbringing. The novel traces the coming out story of the lesbian protagonist Jeanette who struggles to live in a fundamentalist evangelical community that fails to embrace Jeanette’s sexual orientation and denounces it as “unnatural passions.” This conflict on (sexual)identity between the protagonist and society, the main feature of the traditional Bildungsroman genre, is represented as the core element of Oranges are Not the Only Fruit. In the novel, strictly religious public space constantly works towards constructing Jeanette’s identity defining the limits of normal and natural for her. However, Jeanette tries to deconstruct and reconstruct that given identity and attain subjectivity by discovering her sexuality and creating a homespace for herself amidst possibilities. Like Jeanette who rejects heteronormativity and rewrites her own story, Winterson challenges the normativity of Bildung narratives and pushes the boundaries of the Bildungsroman for redefinition. For all these reasons, drawing on Jeanette’s Becoming within the dynamics of her social space, this study aims at discussing Jeanette Winterson’s subversion of the classical male-centred narratives of selfdevelopment and her revision of the Bildungsroman within a feminist framework in Oranges are Not the Only Fruit.

Keywords

Jeanette Winterson, bildungsroman, coming of age, gender, lesbian writing

Edebi Türün ve Toplumsal Cinsiyetin Sınırlarını Aşmak: Jeanette Winterson’ın Tek Meyve Portakal Değildir Romanında Bildungsroman’ın Yeniden Tanımlanması

Abstract

Bu çalışma, Jeanette Winterson'ın ilk romanı olan ve genellikle yazarın öz yasam öyküsünden yola çıkarak yazıldığı düşünülen Tek Meyve Portakal Değildir (1985) romanının Bildungsroman (Oluşum Romanı) edebi türünün özellikleri bağlamında yeniden yorumlanmasını incelemektedir. Roman, lezbiyen bir kadın olan Jeanette’ın, onun cinsel yönelimini kabullenmeyip “anormal tutkular” olarak nitelendiren kökten dinci bir toplulukta sürdürdüğü yaşam çabasının, diğer bir deyişle, oluşum öyküsünün izlerini sürüyor. Geleneksel Bildungsroman türünün de başlıca özelliklerinden birisi olan kahraman ve toplum arasındaki (cinsel)kimlik üzerindeki bu çatışma Tek Meyve Portakal Değildir romanının temel ögesi olarak temsil edilir. Romanda, aşırı dinci toplumsal alan Jeanette için normal ve doğal olanın sınırlarını belirleyerek sürekli olarak onun kimliğini inşa etmeye çalışır. Buna karşılık Jeanette da cinselliğini keşfederek ve kendine olasılıklar arasında bir yuva alanı açarak bu kimliği yeniden oluşturmaya ve öznelliğine kavuşmaya çabalar. Nasıl ki Jeanette heteronormatifliği reddederek hikayesini yeniden yazıyorsa, Winterson da oluşum anlatılarının geleneksel kalıplarına meydan okuyarak Bildungsroman türünün sınırlarını yeniden tanımlar. Tüm bu nedenlerle, bu çalışma Jeanette Winterson'ın Tek Meyve Portakal Değildir romanında Jeanette’ın toplumsal alanın dinamikleri içindeki oluşum hikayesinden yola çıkarak, yazarın eril merkezli oluşum anlatısı geleneğini ters yüz ederek Bildungsroman anlatı türünü feminist bir çerçeve içinde yeniden tanımlamasını ele almayı amaçlamaktadır.

Keywords

Jeanette Winterson, oluşum romanı, yetişkinliğe geçiş, toplumsal cinsiyet, lezbiyen yazın

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