Sarah Kane’in Blasted ve Cleansed oyunlarında erkek egemen düzeni sorgulayan bir araç olarak şiddet

Abstract

Sarah Kane, who is a very prominent representative of in-yer-face theatre, raises her rebellious voice against social problems in an unprecedented way through her plays, and the subordination of women in society is one of the fundamental issues that the playwright ponders on. She masterfully draws the attention of the audience to patriarchal subjugation by employing violence in her plays. The present study examines the plays, Blasted (1995) and Cleansed (1998), in the light of feminist theories and discusses how Kane criticises the victimization of women in the patriarchal system. Following concise background information pertaining to in-yer-face theatre and the conditions of women playwrights, this article scrutinizes the function of binary oppositions in order to reveal the subordination of women in Blasted. In addition, it discusses how the playwright employs violence to interrogate constructed gender roles by examining the interactions among the main characters in the play. Furthermore, it analyses the normative force of the patriarchal system that feeds on violence and the objectification of women by focusing on the deeds of the merciless character, Tinker, in Cleansed. Above all, this study aims to highlight that violence in Kane’s plays enables the playwright to challenge the nullification of women in the male-dominated order.