Murathan mungan'in "zamanimizin bi̇r külkedi̇si̇"ni̇ marksi̇st kuram çerçevesi̇nde okumak [Reading murathan mungan's "zamani{dotless}mi{dotless}zi{dotless}n bir külkedisi" (a cinderella of our time) within the framework of marxist theory]

Abstract

In fairytales there are certain stereotypes and clichés to be implanted in children's minds. Fiction writers who think that this situation should be questioned resort to the technique of rewriting of fairytales by excluding the stereotypes and clichés and by subverting them to suggest alternative world views for the reader. Thus, these writers try to raise the awareness of the audience about the directive aspects of the fairy tales by referring to the instillation and sub-conscious shaping effects of them which hide under the mask telling happy-ending stories, thus the writers criticize the fairy tales in the mildest way. In this paper, Murathan Mungan's "Zamani{dotless}mi{dotless}zi{dotless}n Bir Külkedisi" (A Cinderella of Our Times) which is a postmodernist attempt of rewriting to challenge the patterns of the traditional fairytales will be analyzed. The changes in the rewritten version of "Cinderella" will be questioned within a cause and effect relationship to be evaluated in context of Marxist theory. Since there is not a single printed statement of Mungan about his purpose in rewriting the fairytale, the essay will follow a strategy of discourse analysis and so to say will shed light on the latent Marxist theory content in Mungan's version. This study is the first of its own in exploring a rewritten fairytale within the framework of Marxist theory. Therefore, to help the issue to be conveyed and comprehended thoroughly, both the fictional and structural aspects of the text which break the traditional pattern will be analyzed in the essay. To conclude, the importance of fairytale studies will be underlined by emphasizing the fact that a thorough knowledge of folklore and literature can enable the questioning of the dynamics of the relationship between the two and that such an approach will help the understanding of literary texts within a broader cultural dynamics.