Nostalgia or transgression: elizabeth jane howard s mr. wrong

The aim of this article is to depict the elements of nostalgia and cultural memory in Elizabeth Jane Howard s collection of short stories entitled Mr. Wrong. The two stories, Summer Picnic and The Devoted is analyzed in terms of nostalgia, since the grandmother figures in each story express the gradual change in social relationships by stating that the mystery has been lost today. Individuals become the other and they are placed in solitude in the commercialized dominant modern society. Even their way of living, human relationship and food is degenerated. Howard emphasizes the outcast individuals who try to find a way out by evasion of the past rather than living in a degenerated technological world. The grandmother loses the sense of belonging, which draws her to exclusion. The fragmented self tries to find more meaning and happiness in the past life, which puts individuals in nostalgia. Thus, nostalgia, as Davis states, always occurs in the context of the present fears, discontents, anxieties, or uncertainities (420). That is why the grandmothers in both stories put themselves apart from the center rejecting the future that seems dark, since the past looks more reliable, safer and give reassurance.

Nostalgia ,

Transgression ,

Degeneration ,

Nostalji ,

hlal Etmek ,

Bu makalenin amac Elizabeth Jane Howard n kısa hikayeler kolleksiyonu olan Mr Wrong adl kolleksiyonunda nostaljik ve kültürel bellek unsurlar n ortaya koymakt r. Summer Picnic and The Devoted adl iki hikaye, nostaljik aç dan analiz edildi, çünkü her iki hikayedeki büyükanne ahsiyetinin sosyal ili kilerdeki kadameli de i imi, günümüzdeki gizem in kayboldugunu vurgular. Bireyler öteki olur ve ticarile tirilmi bask n modern toplumda tek ba lar na yerle tirilmi lerdir. Ya am ekilleri, insan ili kileri ve hatta yedikleri yiyecekler bile dejenere olmu tur. Howard, dejenere olmu teknolojik dünyada ya amak yerine geçmi e firar etme yolu ile ç k noktas arayan d lanm bireyleri vurgular. Büyükanne, kendisini her yönden yoksun b rakan bir aidiyet hissini tamamen kaybeder. Parçalanm nefis, geçmi hayatta anlam ve mutluluk bulmaya çal r, böyle bir durum bireyleri nostaljiye yönlendirir. Böylece, nostalji, Davis in de belirttigi gibi, her zaman imdiki korkular, memnuniyetsizlikler, veya belirsizlikler ba lam nda olu ur (420). Bu yüzden her iki hikayedeki büyük anneler, kendilerine karanlik görünen gelece i reddederek merkezin d nda kalmay ye ler, çünkü geçmi daha güvenilir, emniyetli, ve garanti verici görünür

Dejenerasyon ,