An Analysis of Leïla Slimani’s Novel 'Chanson Douce' within the Framework of Postcolonial Discourse

Cansu Avcı

Article Details

An Analysis of Leïla Slimani’s Novel 'Chanson Douce' within the Framework of Postcolonial Discourse

Authors:

Cansu Avcı

Publisher:

Hacettepe University

Main Topics:

Fransız Dili | Edebiyatı ve Kültürü

Journal:

Hacettepe Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi Vol.42 Issue 1, pp.1-10

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

6/2025

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001349905

pISSN:

1301-5737

Keywords:

Abstract:

 Discourse is a multifaceted concept related to everyday life, reflecting individuals emotions, thoughts, opinions, and perceptions, and varying considerably in terms of its functions. Along with the term postcolonial, which began to be used in the 1970s, postcolonial studies also examine how European colonial powers affected other cultures after the end of the Second World War. The postcolonial theorists and writers of this period mostly examine pre-colonial and post-colonial events and phenomena that cannot be explicitly expressed, within the framework of postcolonial discourse theory in disciplines such as history, economics, literature, and cinema. In this context, thinkers such as Homi Bhabha who is among the important names of postcolonial theory, has developed important analyses and concepts about colonialism and its effects, and discussed how the West constructs the East as exotic, underdeveloped and different, and how these constructions legitimize colonial policies. The aforementioned theorist has also employed postcolonial discourse to express the effects of colonialism on the cultures and ideologies of countries, focusing on issues such as resistance, identity, exile, family, marginalization, representation, gender and migration. In this regard, Leïla Slimani, one of the 21st-century writers, holds an important place in terms of drawing attention to issues such as cultural confusion, belonging, the female figure, the female body and loneliness in her works. In her 2016 Goncourt Prize-winning novel Chanson Douce, Slimani, depicts the class and cultural conflicts between a young Parisian bourgeois couple and their nanny through the roles of women. In the novel, through two women, a nanny and a mother, the roles of mother- housewife- businesswoman and the concepts of motherhood and womanhood are discussed within the context of traditional and modern female models. The aim of this study is to analyze the womanhood-motherhood roles, female identity, the problem of motherhood-womanhood, racism and identity crisis of two women from different social classes in Slimanis novel within the framework of the postcolonial discourse theory of Homi Bhabha.

 Discourse is a multifaceted concept related to everyday life, reflecting individuals emotions, thoughts, opinions, and perceptions, and varying considerably in terms of its functions. Along with the term postcolonial, which began to be used in the 1970s, postcolonial studies also examine how European colonial powers affected other cultures after the end of the Second World War. The postcolonial theorists and writers of this period mostly examine pre-colonial and post-colonial events and phenomena that cannot be explicitly expressed, within the framework of postcolonial discourse theory in disciplines such as history, economics, literature, and cinema. In this context, thinkers such as Homi Bhabha who is among the important names of postcolonial theory, has developed important analyses and concepts about colonialism and its effects, and discussed how the West constructs the East as exotic, underdeveloped and different, and how these constructions legitimize colonial policies. The aforementioned theorist has also employed postcolonial discourse to express the effects of colonialism on the cultures and ideologies of countries, focusing on issues such as resistance, identity, exile, family, marginalization, representation, gender and migration. In this regard, Leïla Slimani, one of the 21st-century writers, holds an important place in terms of drawing attention to issues such as cultural confusion, belonging, the female figure, the female body and loneliness in her works. In her 2016 Goncourt Prize-winning novel Chanson Douce, Slimani, depicts the class and cultural conflicts between a young Parisian bourgeois couple and their nanny through the roles of women. In the novel, through two women, a nanny and a mother, the roles of mother- housewife- businesswoman and the concepts of motherhood and womanhood are discussed within the context of traditional and modern female models. The aim of this study is to analyze the womanhood-motherhood roles, female identity, the problem of motherhood-womanhood, racism and identity crisis of two women from different social classes in Slimanis novel within the framework of the postcolonial discourse theory of Homi Bhabha.

 Discourse is a multifaceted concept related to everyday life, reflecting individuals emotions, thoughts, opinions, and perceptions, and varying considerably in terms of its functions. Along with the term postcolonial, which began to be used in the 1970s, postcolonial studies also examine how European colonial powers affected other cultures after the end of the Second World War. The postcolonial theorists and writers of this period mostly examine pre-colonial and post-colonial events and phenomena that cannot be explicitly expressed, within the framework of postcolonial discourse theory in disciplines such as history, economics, literature, and cinema. In this context, thinkers such as Homi Bhabha who is among the important names of postcolonial theory, has developed important analyses and concepts about colonialism and its effects, and discussed how the West constructs the East as exotic, underdeveloped and different, and how these constructions legitimize colonial policies. The aforementioned theorist has also employed postcolonial discourse to express the effects of colonialism on the cultures and ideologies of countries, focusing on issues such as resistance, identity, exile, family, marginalization, representation, gender and migration. In this regard, Leïla Slimani, one of the 21st-century writers, holds an important place in terms of drawing attention to issues such as cultural confusion, belonging, the female figure, the female body and loneliness in her works. In her 2016 Goncourt Prize-winning novel Chanson Douce, Slimani, depicts the class and cultural conflicts between a young Parisian bourgeois couple and their nanny through the roles of women. In the novel, through two women, a nanny and a mother, the roles of mother- housewife- businesswoman and the concepts of motherhood and womanhood are discussed within the context of traditional and modern female models. The aim of this study is to analyze the womanhood-motherhood roles, female identity, the problem of motherhood-womanhood, racism and identity crisis of two women from different social classes in Slimanis novel within the framework of the postcolonial discourse theory of Homi Bhabha.

 Söylem, bireylerin duygularını, düşüncelerini, kanaatlerini ve algılarını yansıtan çok yönlü bir olgu olup işlevleri açısından oldukça değişkenlik gösteren günlük hayatla ilgili bir kavramdır. 1970li yıllarda kullanılmaya başlayan postkolonyal terimiyle birlikte postkolonyal çalışmalar da İkinci Dünya Savaşının sona ermesiyle Avrupalı sömürgeci güçlerin diğer kültürleri nasıl etkilemiş olduğunu ele alır. Bu dönemin postkolonyal kuramcıları ve yazarları çoğunlukla sömürge öncesi ve sömürgecilik sonrası ortaya çıkan ve açıkça ifade edilemeyen olay ve olguları tarih, ekonomi, edebiyat ve sinema gibi disiplinlerde postkolonyal söylem teorisi çerçevesinde incelerler. Bu bağlamda postkolonyal teorinin önemli isimleri arasında yer alan Homi Bhabha, sömürgecilik ve onun etkileri hakkında önemli analizler ve kavramlar geliştirmiş, Batının Doğuyu nasıl egzotik, geri kalmış ve farklı kurguladığını böylelikle bu kurguların sömürgeci politikaları nasıl meşrulaştırdığını tartışmıştır. Sözü edilen kuramcı aynı zamanda direniş, kimlik, sürgün, aile, ötekileştirme, temsil, cinsiyet ve göç gibi konular üzerine odaklanarak postkolonyal söylem aracılığıyla ülkelerin kültürleri ve ideolojileri üzerindeki sömürgeciliğin etkilerini dile getirmiştir. Bu bağlamda 21. yüzyıl yazarlarından Leïla Slimani, eserlerinde kültürel karmaşa, aidiyet, kadın figürü, kadın bedeni ve yalnızlık gibi konulara dikkat çekmesi açısından önemli bir yer tutar. 2016 yılı Goncourt ödülünün sahibi Slimani, Chanson Douce adlı romanında, Parisli genç bir burjuva çift ve dadıları arasında yaşanan sınıfsal ve kültürel çatışmaları kadın rolleri üzerinden anlatır. Romanda, dadı ve anne olmak üzere iki kadın aracılığıyla anne- ev hanımı-iş kadını rolleri ve annelik-kadınlık kavramları geleneksel- modern kadın modelleri kapsamında ele alınır. Bu çalışmanın amacı Slimaninin romanda farklı sosyal sınıflardan iki kadının sahip olduğu kadınlık- annelik rollerini, kadın kimliğini, annelik- kadınlık sorununu, ırkçılık ve kimlik bunalımını Homi Bhabhanın postkolonyal söylem teorisi kapsamında incelemektir.

Article Details

An Analysis of Leïla Slimani’s Novel 'Chanson Douce' within the Framework of Postcolonial Discourse

Authors:

Cansu Avcı

Publisher:

Hacettepe University

Main Topics:

Fransız Dili | Edebiyatı ve Kültürü

Journal:

Hacettepe Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi Vol.42 Issue 1, pp.1-10

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

6/2025

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001349905

pISSN:

1301-5737

Postcolonialism

postcolonial discourse

Leïla Slimani

Chanson Douce

Homi BhabhaPostkolonyalizm

postkolonyal söylem

Leïla Slimani

Chanson Douce

Homi Bhabha

Issues

Article Details

Authors: Cansu Avcı

Publisher: Hacettepe University

Main Topics: Fransız Dili | Edebiyatı ve Kültürü

Journal: Hacettepe Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi Vol.42 Issue 1, pp.1-10

Document Type: Article

Publication Date: 6/2025

Document Language: Turkish

Document ID (Org No.): 2001349905

pISSN: 1301-5737

Issues

Authors:

Cansu Avcı

Publisher:

Hacettepe University

Main Topics:

Fransız Dili | Edebiyatı ve Kültürü

Journal:

Hacettepe Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi Vol.42 Issue 1, pp.1-10

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

6/2025

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001349905

pISSN:

1301-5737