چكيده
This study tried to read the novel of Life After Life by Kate Atkinson from a feminist
Standpoint. The focus is on multiple deaths and re-births of Ursula Todd, the main
female character, as a conscious attempt by her to defy the pre-defined roles forced on
women in a patriarchal society. The study found that Life after Life depicts various
attempts by female ʹʹsubjectsʹʹ to grow up and learn to live up to the expectations of a
suppressed gender that aims to be given a status equal to that of the dominant male. For
this purpose, the concept of "gender performativity" as introduced by the American
critic, Judith Butler, was applied to several experiences of female characters during the
World War II. It became clear that these women were attempting to exert their own free
will toward getting over the obstacles and barriers imposed on them by the imperatives
of a male-dominated society and perform jobs and activities in wartime British society
that would earn them prestige and respect equal to their male colleagues. Drawing on
Judith Butlerʹs notions of "gender performativity,ʹʹ "gender identity,ʹʹ and ʹʹparody and
drag,ʹʹ Kate Atkinson regarded such endeavors by these women as acts of "subversion."
In fact, the study made an effort to bring to surface such attempts at "subversion" by
women throughout Life after Life and prove them as a conscious maneuver by the
author in making females conscious of their own capacities to gain societyʹs respect not
due to their body but as a result of their intellect and achievements.This study tried to read the novel of Life After Life by Kate Atkinson from a feminist
Standpoint. The focus is on multiple deaths and re-births of Ursula Todd, the main
female character, as a conscious attempt by her to defy the pre-defined roles forced on
women in a patriarchal society. The study found that Life after Life depicts various
attempts by female ʹʹsubjectsʹʹ to grow up and learn to live up to the expectations of a
suppressed gender that aims to be given a status equal to that of the dominant male. For
this purpose, the concept of "gender performativity" as introduced by the American
critic, Judith Butler, was applied to several experiences of female characters during the
World War II. It became clear that these women were attempting to exert their own free
will toward getting over the obstacles and barriers imposed on them by the imperatives
of a male-dominated society and perform jobs and activities in wartime British society
that would earn them prestige and respect equal to their male colleagues. Drawing on
Judith Butlerʹs notions of "gender performativity,ʹʹ "gender identity,ʹʹ and ʹʹparody and
drag,ʹʹ Kate Atkinson regarded such endeavors by these women as acts of "subversion."
In fact, the study made an effort to bring to surface such attempts at "subversion" by
women throughout Life after Life and prove them as a conscious maneuver by the
author in making females conscious of their own capacities to gain societyʹs respect not
due to their body but as a result of their intellect and achievements.This study tried to read the novel of Life After Life by Kate Atkinson from a feminist
Standpoint. The focus is on multiple deaths and re-births of Ursula Todd, the main
female character, as a conscious attempt by her to defy the pre-defined roles forced on
women in a patriarchal society. The study found that Life after Life depicts various
attempts by female ʹʹsubjectsʹʹ to grow up and learn to live up to the expectations of a
suppressed gender that aims to be given a status equal to that of the dominant male. For
this purpose, the concept of "gender performativity" as introduced by the American
critic, Judith Butler, was applied to several experiences of female characters during the
World War II. It became clear that these women were attempting to exert their own free
will toward getting over the obstacles and barriers imposed on them by the imperatives
of a male-dominated society and perform jobs and activities in wartime British society
that would earn them prestige and respect equal to their male colleagues. Drawing on
Judith Butlerʹs notions of "gender performativity,ʹʹ "gender identity,ʹʹ and ʹʹparody and
drag,ʹʹ Kate Atkinson regarded such endeavors by these women as acts of "subversion."
In fact, the study made an effort to bring to surface such attempts at "subversion" by
women throughout Life after Life and prove them as a conscious maneuver by the
author in making females conscious of their own capacities to gain societyʹs respect not
due to their body but as a result of their intellect and achievements.This study tried to read the novel of Life After Life by Kate Atkinson from a feminist
Standpoint. The focus is on multiple deaths and re-births of Ursula Todd, the main
female character, as a conscious attempt by her to defy the pre-defined roles forced on
women in a patriarchal society. The study found that Life after Life depicts various
attempts by female ʹʹsubjectsʹʹ to grow up and learn to live up to the expectations of a
suppressed gender that aims to be given a status equal to that of the dominant male. For
this purpose, the concept of "gender performativity" as introduced by the American
critic, Judith Butler, was applied to several experiences of female characters during the
World War II. It became clear that these women were attempting to exert their own free
will toward getting over the obstacles and barriers imposed on them by the imperatives
of a male-dominated society and perform jobs and activities in wartime British society
that would earn them prestige and respect equal to their male colleagues. Drawing on
Judith Butlerʹs notions of "gender performativity,ʹʹ "gender identity,ʹʹ and ʹʹparody and
drag,ʹʹ Kate Atkinson regarded such endeavors by these women as acts of "subversion."
In fact, the study made an effort to bring to surface such attempts at "subversion" by
women throughout Life after Life and prove them as a conscious maneuver by the
author in making females conscious of their own capacities to gain societyʹs respect not
due to their body but as a result of their intellect and achievements.This study tried to read the novel of Life After Life by Kate Atkinson from a feminist
Standpoint. The focus is on multiple deaths and re-births of Ursula Todd, the main
female character, as a conscious attempt by her to defy the pre-defined roles forced on
women in a patriarchal society. The study found that Life after Life depicts various
attempts by female ʹʹsubjectsʹʹ to grow up and learn to live up to the expectations of a
suppressed gender that aims to be given a status equal to that of the dominant male. For
this purpose, the concept of "gender performativity" as introduced by the American
critic, Judith Butler, was applied to several experiences of female characters during the
World War II. It became clear that these women were attempting to exert their own free
will toward getting over the obstacles and barriers imposed on them by the imperatives
of a male-dominated society and perform jobs and activities in wartime British society
that would earn them prestige and respect equal to their male colleagues. Drawing on
Judith Butlerʹs notions of "gender performativity,ʹʹ "gender identity,ʹʹ and ʹʹparody and
drag,ʹʹ Kate Atkinson regarded such endeavors by these women as acts of "subversion."
In fact, the study made an effort to bring to surface such attempts at "subversion" by
women throughout Life after Life and prove them as a conscious maneuver by the
author in making females conscious of their own capacities to gain societyʹs respect not
due to their body but as a result of their intellect and achievements.
