There is no Such Thing as a Sexual Relationship': Lacanian Principles in Iris Murdoch's The Sea The Sea

Özet: İngiliz felsefeci yazar Iris Murdoch ve Fransız felsefeci psikanalist Jacques Lacan insan ilişkilerini yirminci yüzyılda sorgulayıcı bir biçimde betimlemeye çalışmışlardır. Bu bağlamda, fikirleri felsefe ve psikanaliz gibi alanlarda sıklıkla kesişir. Bu çalışma, Murdochun The Sea The Sea adlı ünlü romanını, ana karakteri Charles Arrowbynin bilinçdışı güdülenmelerinin Hartleye olan saplantılı aşkı ile ilişkisi bağlamında ele alacaktır. Annesi olabilecek yaştaki sevgilisi Clement ile ilişkisi, başka biri ile evli olan ilk aşkı için saplantısı, kadınları eşlerinden çalma arzusu ve otoriter annesine yaptığı göndermeler gibi cinsel ve duygusal ilişkileri göz önüne alındığı zaman Charles, Lacancı bilinçdışının öznesinin önemli bir temsilcisi gibi görünmektedir. Bu anlamda Charlesın bilinçdışı güdülenmelerine bizleri yönlendiren göndermeler, özelde karakterin kendisinin, genelde ise herkesin Lacancı terminolojiye göre sembolik düzende kaybetti- ği mutlak jouissanceı (hazzı) elde etmek için paradoksal arzusunu gösterir. Charlesın jouissan- ce arayışı cinsel ilişkileri, yani Lacancı object petit alar (küçük a nesneleri), ile sunulur. Fakat jouissancea ulaşmanın imkânsızlığı da bu aşk hüsranları ile yansıtılır. Lacanın kuramlaştırdığı gibi tüm cinsel ilişkiler insan için, bu çalışmada Charles için, jouissance sağlayamayacak yanıl- sama ve fantazilerdir. Buna rağmen Lacan, cinsel ilişki içermeyen ve öznenin arzusunu canlı tuta- rak daimi bir arzu (nerdeyse jouissance) sağlayan saray aşkı nın cinsel ilişkiye karşı önemli bir alternatif olduğunu belirtir. Bu bağlamda, bu çalışma The Sea The Sea romanını Lacancı Cinsel İlişki Yoktur ilkesi ile Charlesın bilinçdışı güdülenmeleri ve Charlesın deyimiyle saf, derin, şefkatli, karşılıklı bir saygı şeklindeki aşk ihtimali olan saplantılı saray aşkı fantazisi bağlamında inceleyecektir.

Cinsel İlişki Yoktur : Iris Murdoch un The Sea The Sea Romanında Lacancı İlkeler

Abstract: Iris Murdoch, the English philosopher and writer, and Jacques Lacan, the French philosopher and psychoanalyst, tried to depict the human relations in a questioning way in the twentieth century. In this respect, their ideas frequently meet on the fields such as philosophy and psychoanalysis. This paper will handle Murdoch s well-known novel The Sea The Sea in terms of its protagonist s, Charles Arrowby s unconscious motivations in connection with his obsessive love for Hartley. When Charles s sexual and emotional relationships, such as his relationship with Clement who is old enough to be his mother, his obsession for his first love who is married to another man, his will to steal women from their husbands, and his references to his strict mother are considered, he seems more as a representative of Lacanian subject of the unconscious. In this sense, the references that direct the readers to Charles s unconscious motivations demonstrate in particular his own but in general everybody s paradoxical desire to attain the absolute jouissance which is lost in the symbolic order in Lacanian terminology. Charles s quest for jouissance is presented by his sexual relationships, namely Lacanian object petit a s. However, the impossibility to attain jouissance is also reflected by those of love failures. As Lacan theorizes, all sexual relationships are illusions and fantasies that cannot ensure jouissance for human being, here for Charles. However, Lacan mentions that courtly love lacking sexuality and providing a continuous pleasure (nearly jouissance) by keeping the subject s desire alive is a significant alternative to sexual relationship. In this respect, this study will examine The Sea The Sea in relation to Lacanian There is no such thing as a sexual relationship principle in terms of Charles s unconscious motivations and his obsessive courtly love fantasy that is the possibility of love in the form of a pure deep affectionate mutual respect with Charles s own words. Keywords: The Sea The Sea, Jacques Lacan, jouissance, courtly love, sexual relationship.

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