Bodies (Re) Gained: Gender and Identity in Elif Shafak’s Pinhan and Virginia Woolf’s Orlando

Abstract

Abstract-The definition of gender has been a source of great controversy. As Michel Foucault argues in The History of Sexuality, since the seventeenth century the Western outlook upon sexuality is rather in the form of suppression due to certain ideological manipulations through the rise of capitalism. This understanding of sexuality was directly connected to one's biological condition which determined whether the individual was a man or a woman, never leaving place for the in between. With this perspective, the repressed society founded upon the sacred bonds of marriage and the institution of family cut out roles for both men and women which defined their gender roles. These roles were mere performances, as Judith butler would argue later on, however, they had great impact upon the formation of identities for a long time. I argue in alliance with critics such as Stuart Hall that the conception of identity does not have an ultimate ending since it constantly transforms, shifts and takes up new meanings along the way. I further assert that gender, as a vital part of identity formation, carries the same essence, however, it cannot be restricted neither to biological nor temporal nor spatial limits. In order to demonstrate the transformative and transgressive stance of gender and identity, I intend to explore how the novels Pinhan (The Mystic) by Elif Shafak and Orlando: A Biography by Virginia Woolf cross the thresholds of time and space. The two androgynous protagonists of the novels express the uniqueness of identity formation in terms of gender in spite of the differing repressive societies they live in. Even though both novels were written by authors from different eras and different cultural backgrounds, they take upon a similar approach to the issue of gender in their own unique ways.

“The Harem Within”: The Complexity of Female Identity in Elif Shafak’s Black Milk

“…A feminist point of view reclaims the symbolic order of societies, and changes the labels and norms that where enforced on gender. "Social hierarchy bound individuals to certain alliances with clear-edged definitions of gender, and its roles forced upon them" 13 , so not only "the Harem within" represents the reaction against the patriarchal order, but also the parts in which Elif fictionalize and gives a voice to other women writers (Sylvia Plath, Zelda Fitzgerald, Jane Austin, Adalet Ağaoğlu, Simone de Beauvoir, Sevgi Soysal, Sophia Tolstoy and many others). These women faced the consequences of patriarchy, they could not find a way to mediate between writing and mothering.…”