The Problematic of Authenticity in Sándor Márai’s Portraits of a Marriage

Göktuğ Altuntaş

Makale detayları

The Problematic of Authenticity in Sándor Márai’s Portraits of a Marriage

Yazarlar:

Göktuğ Altuntaş

Yayıncı:

Mugla Sitki Kocman University

Ana Başlıklar:

Karşılaştırmalı ve Ulusötesi Edebiyat

Dergi:

Bitig Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi Vol.5 Issue 9, pp.1-15

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

6/2025

Belge Dili:

İngilizce

Document ID (Org No.):

2001351607

pISSN:

2791-7908

Anahtar kelimeler:

Özet:

 In Sándor Márais 1900-1989 novel Portraits of a Marriage, the protagonist Peter is revealed to be a multifaceted character who faces existential dilemmas, a profound sense of indifference and dissociation. Peter, who is practically born with a respectable bourgeois status and attempts to navigate his way through the social constraints imposed by this bourgeois standing, experiences a severe inner rupture between the identity that his society expects from him and the identity that he desires to be in his essence. In the course of World War II and the rigid structure of the social order that prioritizes conformity over individuality, Peter is trapped between his aspiration to reveal his true self and authentic existence and the artificial identity imposed on him. However, his search for authenticity is obstructed not only by external, societal pressures but also by his own inner feelings of insecurity, thus pushing him constantly towards inauthentic existence. In this context, the novel explores Peters existential struggle in detail, both through his inner monologues and through his relationships with the other characters who constitute the plot of the narrative. In particular, his marriage as a member of the bourgeois and his subsequent relationship that he strives to establish with Judit fuels his existential anxieties and reveals the tension between his search for escape from the restrictions of his social identity and the authentic self he believes to exist. As Peter attempts to construct an authentic identity, he realizes that this endeavour comes with a great responsibility and inevitably necessitates isolation and alienation. Hence, the narrative unfolds Peters existential struggle on the slippery ground of authenticity and inauthenticity. In this respect, this article examines the problematic of authenticity of Peter, the main character of Sándor Márais novel Portraits of a Marriage written in 1941, from an existentialist and psychoanalytic framework. For this reason, the study will generally rely on Martin Heidegger and Jean Paul Sartre on the axis of existentialism and will utilize Jacques Lacans concepts such as mirror phase and symbolic order where existentialism requires psychoanalytic readings.

 In Sándor Márais 1900-1989 novel Portraits of a Marriage, the protagonist Peter is revealed to be a multifaceted character who faces existential dilemmas, a profound sense of indifference and dissociation. Peter, who is practically born with a respectable bourgeois status and attempts to navigate his way through the social constraints imposed by this bourgeois standing, experiences a severe inner rupture between the identity that his society expects from him and the identity that he desires to be in his essence. In the course of World War II and the rigid structure of the social order that prioritizes conformity over individuality, Peter is trapped between his aspiration to reveal his true self and authentic existence and the artificial identity imposed on him. However, his search for authenticity is obstructed not only by external, societal pressures but also by his own inner feelings of insecurity, thus pushing him constantly towards inauthentic existence. In this context, the novel explores Peters existential struggle in detail, both through his inner monologues and through his relationships with the other characters who constitute the plot of the narrative. In particular, his marriage as a member of the bourgeois and his subsequent relationship that he strives to establish with Judit fuels his existential anxieties and reveals the tension between his search for escape from the restrictions of his social identity and the authentic self he believes to exist. As Peter attempts to construct an authentic identity, he realizes that this endeavour comes with a great responsibility and inevitably necessitates isolation and alienation. Hence, the narrative unfolds Peters existential struggle on the slippery ground of authenticity and inauthenticity. In this respect, this article examines the problematic of authenticity of Peter, the main character of Sándor Márais novel Portraits of a Marriage written in 1941, from an existentialist and psychoanalytic framework. For this reason, the study will generally rely on Martin Heidegger and Jean Paul Sartre on the axis of existentialism and will utilize Jacques Lacans concepts such as mirror phase and symbolic order where existentialism requires psychoanalytic readings.

 In Sándor Márais 1900-1989 novel Portraits of a Marriage, the protagonist Peter is revealed to be a multifaceted character who faces existential dilemmas, a profound sense of indifference and dissociation. Peter, who is practically born with a respectable bourgeois status and attempts to navigate his way through the social constraints imposed by this bourgeois standing, experiences a severe inner rupture between the identity that his society expects from him and the identity that he desires to be in his essence. In the course of World War II and the rigid structure of the social order that prioritizes conformity over individuality, Peter is trapped between his aspiration to reveal his true self and authentic existence and the artificial identity imposed on him. However, his search for authenticity is obstructed not only by external, societal pressures but also by his own inner feelings of insecurity, thus pushing him constantly towards inauthentic existence. In this context, the novel explores Peters existential struggle in detail, both through his inner monologues and through his relationships with the other characters who constitute the plot of the narrative. In particular, his marriage as a member of the bourgeois and his subsequent relationship that he strives to establish with Judit fuels his existential anxieties and reveals the tension between his search for escape from the restrictions of his social identity and the authentic self he believes to exist. As Peter attempts to construct an authentic identity, he realizes that this endeavour comes with a great responsibility and inevitably necessitates isolation and alienation. Hence, the narrative unfolds Peters existential struggle on the slippery ground of authenticity and inauthenticity. In this respect, this article examines the problematic of authenticity of Peter, the main character of Sándor Márais novel Portraits of a Marriage written in 1941, from an existentialist and psychoanalytic framework. For this reason, the study will generally rely on Martin Heidegger and Jean Paul Sartre on the axis of existentialism and will utilize Jacques Lacans concepts such as mirror phase and symbolic order where existentialism requires psychoanalytic readings.

 Sándor Márainin 1900-1989 İşin Aslı Judit ve Sonrası adlı romanında, eserin başkahramanı Peter varoluşsal ikilem, derin bir kayıtsızlık ve ayrışma duygularıyla yüzleşen çok yönlü bir karakter olarak ortaya çıkmaktadır. Saygın bir burjuva statüsüyle adeta dünyaya gelen ve bu burjuva statüsünün getirdiği sosyal kısıtlamalar arasında kendisine yol çizmeye çalışan Peter, toplumun kendisinden beklediği kimlik ile özünde olmasını arzuladığı kimlik arasında derin bir içsel bölünme yaşar. II. Dünya savaşı süreci ve bunun getirdiği toplumsal düzenin bireysellikten ziyade uyumu önceleyen katı yapısı içinde Peter, otantik varoluşu ve hakiki benliğini ortaya çıkarma arzusuyla, kendisine dayatılan yapay kimlik arasında sıkışıp kalır. Ancak, onun otantiklik arayışı yalnızca dışsal, toplumsal baskılardan değil, aynı zamanda kendi içsel güvensizlik hissiyatları tarafından da engellenmekte, böylece onu daimî olarak inotantik bir varoluşa doğru itmektedir. Roman, bu bağlamda Peterın varoluşsal mücadelesini hem iç monologlar yoluyla hem de anlatının ana örgüsünü oluşturan diğer karakterle kurduğu ilişkiler aracılığıyla derinlemesine işlemektedir. Özellikle bir burjuva mensubu olarak yaptığı evlilik ve sonrasında Judit ile kurmaya çalıştığı ilişki, onun varoluşsal kaygılarını körükleyen bir nitelikte olup, burjuva kimliğinin kısıtlamalarından kaçma arayışıyla var olduğuna inandığı otantik benliği arasındaki gerilimi gözler önüne sermektedir. Peter, otantik bir kimlik inşa etmeye çalıştıkça, bu çabanın da büyük bir sorumluluk getirdiğini ve kaçınılmaz olarak soyutlanma ve yabancılaşma gerektirdiğini fark eder. Dolayısıyla, roman Peterın otantiklik-inotantiklik kaygan zeminindeki varoluş mücadelesini ortaya koymaktadır. Bu bağlamda, bu makale Sándor Márainin 1941 yılında yazdığı İşin Aslı Judit ve Sonrası romanının ana karakteri Peterın otantiklik sorunsalını varoluşçu ve psikoanalitik bir çerçeveden incelemektedir. Bu sebeple, çalışma genel olarak Martin Heidegger ve Jean Paul Sartreı varoluşçuluk ekseninde kendine dayanak alacak olup, varoluşçuluğun psikoanalitik okumalar gerektirdiği noktalarda ise Jacques Lacanın ayna evresi ve sembolik düzen gibi kavramlarından yararlanacaktır.

Makale detayları

The Problematic of Authenticity in Sándor Márai’s Portraits of a Marriage

Yazarlar:

Göktuğ Altuntaş

Yayıncı:

Mugla Sitki Kocman University

Ana Başlıklar:

Karşılaştırmalı ve Ulusötesi Edebiyat

Dergi:

Bitig Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi Vol.5 Issue 9, pp.1-15

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

6/2025

Belge Dili:

İngilizce

Document ID (Org No.):

2001351607

pISSN:

2791-7908

authenticity

inauthenticity

existentialism

psychoanalysis

sandor maraiotantiklik

inotantiklik

varoluşçuluk

psikanaliz

sandor marai

Sayı

Makale detayları

Yazarlar: Göktuğ Altuntaş

Yayıncı: Mugla Sitki Kocman University

Ana Başlıklar: Karşılaştırmalı ve Ulusötesi Edebiyat

Dergi: Bitig Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi Vol.5 Issue 9, pp.1-15

Belge Tipi: Makale

Yayın Tarihi: 6/2025

Belge Dili: İngilizce

Document ID (Org No.): 2001351607

pISSN: 2791-7908

Sayı

Yazarlar:

Göktuğ Altuntaş

Yayıncı:

Mugla Sitki Kocman University

Ana Başlıklar:

Karşılaştırmalı ve Ulusötesi Edebiyat

Dergi:

Bitig Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi Vol.5 Issue 9, pp.1-15

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

6/2025

Belge Dili:

İngilizce

Document ID (Org No.):

2001351607

pISSN:

2791-7908