P. G. WODEHOUSE’IN İNCİLER, KIZLAR VE MONTY BODKIN İLE KEDİ HIRSIZLARI ROMANLARINDA TOPLUMSAL CİNSİYET VE GÜLMECE

Gülmece ile ilgili çalışmalar yapan bilim insanları, bir durumu ya da bir yapıtı gülünç yapan şeyin ne olduğunu açıklamaya çalışmışlardır. Bu çalışmaların sonucunda, çeşitli gülmece kuramları ortaya çıkmıştır. Bu kuramlardan ‘tutarsızlık kuramı’, gülmece çalışmalarında yaygın olarak kabul görür. Britanya’nın önde gelen yazarlarından biri olan P. G. Wodehouse, gülmece romanlarıyla ünlüdür. Bu çalışmada yazarın İnciler, Kızlar ve Monty Bodkin (1972) ile İngiltere’de ilk kez Teyzeler Centilmen Değildir başlığı altında 1974 yılında yayımlanmış olan Kedi Hırsızları adlı romanlarında gülmecenin, karakterlerin kişilik özellikleriyle toplumda egemen olan, dolayısıyla okurun cinsiyet şemasında bulunan, toplumsal cinsiyet kalıp yargıları arasındaki tutarsızlıktan kaynaklandığı tartışılır. Bu makale, incelenilen romanlarda erkek karakterlerin toplumsal olarak makbul erkeksi özellikler sergilemediklerini, kadın karakterlerin çoğunun ise erkeksi özellikler taşıdıklarını ortaya koyar. Wodehouse, göndermeler yaparak kadın karakterlerin erkeksi özelliklerini vurgular. Çalışmada romanlardaki karakterlerin özellikleriyle okurların cinsiyet şemalarında bulunan kalıp yargılar arasındaki tutarsızlığın gülmeye neden olabileceği sonucuna ulaşılmıştır.

Anahtar Kelimeler:

Wodehouse, gülmece, tutarsızlık kuramı, toplumsal cinsiyet, tolumsal cinsiyet şeması

GENDER AND HUMOUR IN P.G. WODEHOUSE’S PEARLS, GIRLS AND MONTY BODKIN AND THE CAT-NAPPERS

The scholars preoccupied with humor have tried to explain what makes a situation or a work of art humorous. Consequently, various theories of humor have come into being. Of these theories, “the incongruity theory” is widely accepted in humor studies. P.G. Wodehouse, one of the leading authors of Britain, is famous for his humorous novels. This study argues that in Wodehouse’s Pearls, Girls and Monty Bodkin (1972) and The Cat-Nappers, first published in England under the title Aunts Aren’t Gentlemen in 1974, humor stems from the incongruity between the personality traits of the characters and gender stereotypes dominant in society, and accordingly, in the gender schemas of the readers. This article displays that while the male characters do not exhibit socially accepted masculine traits, most of the female characters have masculine traits. Using allusions, Wodehouse emphasizes the masculine traits of his female characters in these novels. The study concludes that the incongruity between the personality traits of the characters in these novels and the stereotypes in the gender schema of the readers may cause laughter.

Keywords:

Wodehouse, incongruity theory, gender, gender schema, Humor,

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