Abstract

Shame plays a major role in the formation of femininity, and as Ruth Leys argues, shame has surpassed guilt as the dominant emotional reference in the Western world. If shame is a lived social experience rather than an interior trait, how does this new understanding of shame influence our readings of literature, particularly that of women writers? Analyzing Leyla Erbil's recently translated novel, A Strange Woman (1971), and interacting with theories of emotion and affect theory, I explore whether viewing women's writing from this new perspective can offer new insight into literature by women and particularly the literature by women in Turkey. Emotions are embodied thoughts, claims Thomas Dixon. The body is also back in focus in Monique Scheer's groundbreaking article, “Are Emotions a Kind of Practice (and is That What Makes Them Have a History).” What is significant in the history of emotion and feminist literature is that shame has no single meaning. My dissertation therefore investigates numerous layers of shame in Erbil’s novel, illustrating how the intense familial and social conflicts inflected by shame there still speak to women’s experience. The first part focuses on shame as a gendered emotion and Erbil’s attempt to write shame as such. In the second part, I address the corporeal side of the matter by examining Erbil's protagonist Nermin's quest for self-discovery; our bodies as well as our writing bear witness to shame. Closely reading the novel's descriptions of shameful moments, I grapple with cultural codes, and gender to explore whether it is possible for literature to undo shame.

Committee Chair

Lynne Tatlock

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Author's Department

Comparative Literature

Author's School

Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

Document Type

Dissertation

Date of Award

9-8-2023

Language

English (en)

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