sempozyum_bildiri_kitabi

means that writer is actually an androgynous person. As the play proceeds Virginia eventually turns
into an androgynous person and as the fantastical side of the play, into a red elm on the stage. The
name of the play constructs the reality of Virginia and that of the play from a symbolic meaning. It is
also emphasized in the play that Virginia is a lesbian. Virginia in the play confronts us with an identity
undressed from her personality which is mentioned in her diaries. She is also free from the image of
a lunatic reflected in the realm of literature; however Leonard is also suspended from his role as
Virginia’s saver, whose feature as a man of status quo is emphasized. Both in the play and in the real
life Leonard does not want to mention his wife’s lesbian identity. It is also mentioned in the play that
Leonard tried to avoid publishing some of Virginia’s stories with the fear of her being labeled as
lesbian. As mentioned above, Leo also published Virginia’s diary after her death by censoring it.
What’s more, nobody mentions that Leonard found himself a remarkable status in the society by the
help of his wife, but this issue is revealed in the play. The play takes Virginia’s relation with Leonard
as point of tension and also shows how a contradicting life she lived as a woman between her
personal body and social body. In this play Virginia is woman who wants to get liberated. She is a
lesbian intellectual who is forced to solitude. Erenus, approaches sceptically to Virginia’s words in her
diary about her and her husband as being the happiest couple in England. Virginia’s last note
supports this scepticism. Erenus sees a gap between the reality and the image created by the words
of happiness. She believes that there is a contradiction between the picture of happiness and
Virginia’s last note. Also the picture of lunacy seems doubtful for Erenus. In the play there is a
suspicion that image of lunacy or mental illness could have been made up as a means to cover
Virginia’s different personality which is far from expectations of her time. Therefore in order to show
and question the contradictions, playwright uses some fictive scenes in the play which do not overlap
with reality. Thus, Virginia’s identity and reality in the diaries are also questioned. Besides, Virginia’s
anti‐war attitude and feminist standing is also emphasized in the play. The play also gives references
to daily politics by using a timeless space in which past and present move together. Virginia
expresses her ideas to Leo in following words:
In Vietnam, in Hiroshima, in Nagasaki Leo, in Ireland, in Somalia, in Ruanda, in Bosnia,
in Turkey; Nicaragua, Haiti… Palestine, massacre of human‐beings, nature, ideas is still
going on Leo; hand‐in hand with capital, interwoven; how else can fascism be described.” 2
(…) “In this world, women and men, everybody, hand‐in‐hand has to fight against fascism
and racism. This is the only war that I respect the one and the only. 3
The play emphasizes Virginia’s intellectual personality, her critical standing, which makes her
chose her position or her side in all of the socio‐political controversies of her era. Virginia displays her
feminist attitude with following words, as well: “As a woman I do not want a country for myself. As a
woman my country is the earth.” 4 At the end of the play Virginia turns into a red elm and wants to be
recognized asks with hope: “Who is there?” 5
In her play Halide, Erenus aims to pulls out Halide Edip from the official history which makes
Halide disappear. The play questions the official history and aims to lead the reader/spectator to
read history from a different angle. Because, Halide Edip was approached negatively and forced to
disappear in the history only because of her female identity. What the play discusses behind that is
seen is the questioning of the masculine face of the nation. Play demonstrates to its audience Halide
Edip’s strong female identity, her intellectual personality and shows how she builts up her existence
in public sphere and how she struggles to exist in man dominated politics. Halide Edip takes her place
in schoolbooks, but either as Corporal Halide of the War of Independence or as pro‐mandate Halide.
However, “when the censored parts of Halide Edip’s life are enlightened both the identity of a
pioneer woman will be free of clichés and the feverish energy that fled into political and ideological
channels and various forms that it gained will be apparent.” 6 Bilgesu Erenus, while building up her