Self-reflexivity in postmodernist texts : a comparative study of the works of John Fowles and Orhan Pamuk

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2003

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Saraçoğlu, Semra

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This dissertation makes a comparative analysis of the self-reflexivity in the novels of one British and one Turkish writer - John Fowles and Orhan Pamuk. The study restricts itself to three novels by each writer. In making this analysis under the light of Robert Scholes₂s theory of "reality, "and making use of Linda Hutcheon's classification of self-reflexivity, and Jacque Lacan's The Mirror Stage, it is argued that both Fowles and Pamuk create worlds within worlds which are similar to but different from each other, namely the fictional world, the world of the implied author, and the outer world, i.e. the world of the writer. Although these worlds reflect each other, it is not a one-to-one reflection of outer reality, since art/fiction is illusion. This dissertation argues that in accordance with their aims in both life and literature, and their views on "reality, "Fowles and Pamuk make use iv of different self-reflexive devices. While Fowles prefers overt self-reflexive devices, Pamuk chooses to employ both overt and covert ones; this may be because Fowles aims to be didactic whereas Pamuk does not. While Fowles believes in the existence of the external world, Pamuk rejects it. Whatever techniques they use, it is shown that they both write self-reflexive texts focusing on "fictionality" as their theme. The analysis of the six novels by Fowles and Pamuk as the representatives of two different literatures demonstrates that self-reflexivity is an indispensable characteristic of postmodern fiction and that Pamuk is more postmodernist compared to Fowles.

Subject Keywords

English literature, Turkish literature, Self-reflexivity, Self-reflection, Mirror, Dreams, Fantasies, Ficton

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http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/1104231/index.pdf
https://hdl.handle.net/11511/13356

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Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis

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Citation Formats

S. Saraçoğlu, “Self-reflexivity in postmodernist texts : a comparative study of the works of John Fowles and Orhan Pamuk,” Ph.D. - Doctoral Program, Middle East Technical University, 2003.