Christina Rossetti’s Divided Psyche And İts Reflection İn Her Poetry: “Goblin Market”

Year 2023, Issue: 13, 683 - 701, 30.12.2023

Begüm Sude Mızrak , Tülay Dağoğlu

https://doi.org/10.47994/usbad.1335773

Abstract

Christina Rossetti’s entire life is all about her struggle against the tension between contrasting identities: literary and religious. Thus, her work is a reflection of her endeavour to balance both the societal and religious dichotomies, generated by the contradictions and complexities of the Victorian era. The role of religious reading in Rossetti's life and its impact on her poetry is undeniable, highlighting her speculative critique of restrictive gender roles and ideals of purity coerced by Christianity. Furthermore, societal expectations of Victorian womanhood and their influence on Rossetti's self reflect the multitudinous complexities of the female identity in her work. Such is the inconclusive Christianity in her soul’s quest behind duality and vacillation in her work, stemming from and leading to a divided psyche. The study aims to investigate Rossetti’s divided psyche oscillating between rebellious and compliant through the contrasting characters of Laura and Lizzie in "Goblin Market" to explore her ambivalent imagination of the female agency and the conventional gender roles that are underpinned by the Christian theology in her poetic exploration of the Victorian woman.

Keywords

Christiana Rossetti, divided psyche, Victorian poetry, Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Goblin Market

Christina Rossetti'nin İki Kutuplu Kişiliği Ve “Goblin Market” Şiirindeki Yansımaları

Abstract

Christina Rossetti'nin tüm hayatı, edebi ve dinsel kimlikler arasındaki zıtlığa karşı verdiği mücadeleyle ilgilidir. Bu nedenle çalışmaları, Viktorya döneminin çelişkileri ve karmaşıklıklarının yarattığı toplumsal, dini ikilemleri dengeleme çabasının bir yansımasıdır. Rossetti'nin hayatındaki dini okumaların rolü ve şiirleri üzerindeki etkisi yadsınamaz; bu, onun Hıristiyanlığın zorladığı kısıtlayıcı cinsiyet rollerine ve saflık ideallerine yönelik spekülatif eleştirisini vurgulamaktadır. Dahası, Viktorya dönemi kadınlığına ilişkin toplumsal beklentiler ve bunların Rossetti'nin benliği üzerindeki etkisi, onun çalışmalarındaki kadın kimliğinin çok derin karmaşıklığını yansıtır. Bölünmüş bir ruhtan kaynaklanan ve bölünmüş bir ruha sürükleyen ikilik ve karasızlığın ardındaki özün arayışında sonuçlandırılamamış bir inanç söz konusudur. Bu çalışma, Rossetti'nin Viktorya dönemi kadınına dair şiirsel keşfinde, asi ve itaatkar arasında gidip gelen bölünmüş ruhunu, "Goblin Market"ndeki Laura ve Lizzie'nin zıt karakterleri aracılığıyla analiz etmeyi, onun kadın konseptine ilişkin kararsızlığını ve Hristiyan teolojisinin desteklediği geleneksel cinsiyet rollerini keşfetmeyi amaçlamaktadır.

Keywords

Viktorya Dönemi Şiiri, Bölünmüş Ruh, “Goblin Market”, Christina Rossetti

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