Manipulating the Personal Journeys of Identity: Westernization and the Ottoman and Republican understandings of gender in Turkey.

MANIPULATING THE PERSONAL JOURNEYS OF IDENTITY:

WESTERNIZATION AND THE OTTOMAN AND

REPUBLICAN UNDERSTANDINGS OF GENDER IN TURKEY

A Thesis

submitted to the Faculty of the

Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

of Georgetown University

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the

degree of

Master of Arts

in Communication, Culture, and Technology

By

Deniz Oktem, B.A.

Washington, DC

April 19, 2002

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction.........................................................................1

Chapter I...........................................................................18

Chapter II..........................................................................27

Chapter III.........................................................................46

Chapter IV.........................................................................83

Chapter V........................................................................110

Conclusion.......................................................................132

Works Cited.....................................................................148

Introduction

Western-oriented modernism has greatly affected the formation of individual identities

and gender relations around the world. This paper will focus on the construction of identity,

gender and gender relations within the discourse of Westernization and modernization during the

late-Ottoman Empire and early Republican Turkey. It attempts to show how social, political, and

cultural institutions shape citizen identity and how redefinitions of them affect identity, gender,

and gender roles in society. Examining the Pertev Bey series of three novels by Münevver Ayaºlý

as primary source and some other various cultural and historical texts of the late-Ottoman and

early Republican period in Turkey, this paper aims to search for the terms under which new forms

of femininity and masculinity were constructed, especially within the private space of the family

and in public debates, during the early twentieth century, which in turn changed gender relations

to a great extent.

The Western dominated concept of modernization has played an important role in the

relationship of the West with non-Western countries. The transformation of non-Western

countries in response to the requirements set by the criteria and standards of the West has resulted

in a variety of social, political, economical and cultural changes. Modernization has placed the

responsibility on the non-West to aspire to the ideals of this movement in order to be considered

as part of the network of the "progressing" countries. The effects of modernization have been

influential on the formation of personal and social identities. The construction of gender relations

as a result of a myriad of debates on individual identities has been an important area for

examining the social and cultural consequences of modernism, which have greatly shaped human

interactions into multiple directions.

2

During the early nineteenth century, the Ottoman Empire struggled to accommodate its

heritage consisting of political, social and cultural structures, institutions and values to the

influences of the expanding Western colonial culture. Due to the disintegration within the

Empire, resulting to a great extent from the wars and the influence of nationalism in the

nineteenth century, the Ottoman society had to find ways to unify the society in the face of the

loss of lands and power. One of the solutions for the Empire appeared to be Westernization

among several other trends such as "pan Islamism" and "Ottomanism". The acceptance of

Westernization shaped many aspects of Ottoman life, especially individual identities and gender

relations.

The beginnings of Westernization are generally associated with the Tanzimat Fermaný

(Imperial Decree) of 1839 issued during the reign of Abdülmecid. The word Tanzimat means

"regulations," and is used to refer to the period between 1839 and 1878 during which a

considerable number of Western-inspired political and social reforms were carried out in the

Ottoman Empire with the aim of solving the disintegration of the Empire. Despite the fact that

the Tanzimat Fermaný does not explicitly mention anything about family, women and women's

education, there have been arguments that it has indirectly caused changes in the family and in

the status of women. Rules for the behaviour of women in the public domain, new regulations on

the institution of marriage, the emphasis on education for the improvement of marriages, the

equation of family and women with the whole society resulted in changes in the positions and life

conditions of women. Therefore, it is significant to study the Tanzimat period in order to

examine the question of what types of female and male identities were discussed by both sexes

within the framework of Westernization and modernism moving gender relations in different

directions.

3

Both the period of Tanzimat and later of the Turkish Republic, which was founded in

923 abolishing the political system of the Empire, are significant in the study of Westernization

in Turkey. The approach of the Ottoman and the Republican towards Westernization have

differences as well as similarities and both periods in Turkish history have contributed to the

construction of individual and national identities, thus it is significant to study both of them to

understand the various historical forces that have affected the formation of individual identities

and gender relations. Based on this premise, this research paper uses the term Ottoman and

Republican to refer to the two different periods and their changes in Turkish history and thus, to

examine the effects of Westernization on the issue of identity in Turkey.

Method and Sources

The available sources prove the existence of avenues for the Ottoman subject to respond

to new forms of self-expression, thus to voice individual concerns and questions about the

imposition of new definitions on the 'self'. Literature was one tool that the intellectuals of the

Tanzimat and later periods used in order to convey different approaches towards the effects of

Westernization on the formation of individual identities. The characters and plots of novels

would, in a didactic way, try to show the reader the appropriate boundaries of Westernization.

This research paper will analyze the Pertev Bey series by Münevver Ayaºlý, as primary

sources, written in the 1960s about the disintegration of an Ottoman family during the early

twentieth century. It will try to provide evidence for social and cultural changes referred to in the

novel by examining studies done on various secondary sources, such as: historical narrative

accounts, newspaper articles, images, advertisements, and books about the social, political and

cultural reforms of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.

The premise, on which the research is based, is that it is almost inevitable for any non-

Western country to be affected by the hegemony of the Western civilization, which has resulted

4

in many cases of complex interactions with the West. The content of texts and arguments will be

interpreted within the analytical framework provided by the secondary sources in terms of the

historical context of the period in which the arguments took place. Using mainly content

analysis, this paper will examine social, cultural and political terms in texts for Ottoman

subjecthood, citizenship, religious and national identities and for the definition and proposed

characteristics of the 'acceptable and approved' modern female and male individuals. Content

analysis can help examine the deep underlying meanings and implications behind the verbal

arguments in cultural texts. Paying attention to the intentions, tones, and word usage of the

writers of these texts, this research will try to get at the individual attitudes, which can vary from

cynical, paradoxical, and iron to appreciative, approving and celebratory, when confronted with

the question of what type of female and male characteristics should be formed within the

framework modernization and Westernization.

The case of Turkey might be considered as a good example of the rhetorical domination

of Westernization. However, it may limit the ability to make a general argument, as the

heterogeneous nature of the Middle East, and of the non-West in general, would interfere with the

notion of one specific way of dealing with Western influence. The variety of cultures within the

region would challenge a stereotypical perspective on how each country has dealt with the

influence of the West. The internal dynamics of each community may interfere with a general

conclusion drawn from the study on Turkey about how each society has responded to the

challenges faced in the encounter with the Western culture. This study is meant to be an

examination of a particular and unique case. Some of the themes that are necessary in dealing

with this topic are gendered politics, women's agency, patriarchal feminism, modernism and the

family as the indigenous domain of social control.

5

Gendered Politics and Women's Agency

Examining the formation of gender relations, this paper assumes the significance of

studying both genders simultaneously as they are seen as contributing to each other's formation

through a dialectical relationship. Many arguments have been made about the neglect of the study

on female experiences in understanding history. However, one must be careful not to equate the

concept of gender with only female concerns, as it requires the "male" counterpart in its

understanding.

Among the thinkers using the term "gendered politics", the importance of studying the

agency of women in the formation of international politics and history has been acknowledged.

Enloe in her book Bananas, Beaches and Bases, writing on international politics and feminism,

criticizes patriarchal nationalism and gendered politics, which in her opinion prevent a full

appreciation of history as they neglect the active participation of women in these fields.

Patriarchal nationalism has perpetuated the inequalities in power relationships between sexes by

viewing the female as the inferior subject that needs to accommodate to the wishes of the male

elite. Thus, it has highly influenced the discourse on women's roles in the construction of a

nation. Scott's poststructuralist approach to the study on the meaning of gender, in Gender and

the Politics of History, bases its argument on the fact that gender is historically constructed,

legitimated, challenged and maintained. The deconstruction of meaning by referring to

oppositions, negations, hierarchical dependencies, exclusions and inclusions is, in Scott's

opinion, significant when analyzing the unstable flowing word of "gender". The term is

manipulated by various forces that constantly interact to reshape its meaning. Therefore, it is

essential, in studying the changes regarding gender during the late-Ottoman Empire, to situate it

into the historical context including various social, cultural and political changes that might have

6

had different impacts on the creation of new definitions. The Tanzimat period, with its reforms

and social trends and understandings, appears to be among those forces that reshaped gender,

social and individual identities and relations.

Frierson, in her analysis of the popular press during the reign of Abdülhamid II, argues

for the need to investigate the concept of gender with special focus on the agency of women in

the process of modernization during the Hamidian era. She rightly thinks that his reign serves as

an important source for the understanding of how later the proponents of Kemalism 1were able to

mobilize women into the public sphere. The study of gender is essential, in her opinion, to grasp

the process of state building, which is similar to the discourse by Enloe and Scott about the

agency of women throughout history. Frierson analyzes the function of the popular press in

educating the public about the reforms for Westernization and in providing ways, especially for

women, to respond to the changes on individual identities. Literate women responded to the

questions about the new identities imposed upon themselves under the impact of the modernizing

language of Hamidian reforms. Thus, their contribution to the historical changes of their societies

needs to be analyzed as part of a study on the formation of gender relations affected by the

consequences of a modernist discourse.

Zilfi, in her work on Ottoman women of an earlier period, also argues that it is essential

to focus on women's issues in the Ottoman Empire in order to see the broader picture on the

Islamic past of women, which, in her opinion, has mainly consisted of pre-Ottoman past or

Arabic sources in historical works. The book she edited consists of different articles that try to

answer the question of women's active participation in the construction of their own social

boundaries. Various studies on women and law, economy, vakýf (charity foundations) and

marriage attempt to form a new framework to analyze women's experiences. Zilfi says; "We

argue that the elements of legal, physical and communal space converge to construct the

7

boundaries of Ottoman women's experiences" (48) and continues; "We replace the public/private

dichotomy that has long dominated analysis of gender within the context of the Middle East with

a new conception of women's experience. The new concept focuses on woman's agency and

traces her actions and interactions throughout all aspects of society, from everyday practices to

material interests, from social rituals to symbolic expressions." (49) Zilfi appears to be on the

same road with Enloe, Scott, and Frierson by tapping into the "women question," acknowledging

women's important role in the historical changes of their communities. Judith Tucker argues for

recognition of the diversity in the Middle East, which in her opinion, requires scholars to form

different criteria for studying gender in different contexts. She says that the variety of

interpretations of Islam in the Middle East provide an example of the difficulty of generalizing or

categorizing the Middle East and gender experiences in this region. The boundaries drawn and redrawn

by historical, social, and contextual circumstances limit the ability to form generalizations

about different cultures often considered to be in the same geographical region of the world.

As the ideas Frierson, Enloe, Scott, Peteet, Tucker and Zilfi point out, for the purpose of

this research paper, it is significant to start with the assumption that women's agency is

significant in the construction of history. Digging into women's experiences of the

modernization process, influenced to a great extent by both in the patriarchal society of the

Ottomans and the patriarchal tendencies in the West, would enhance the understanding of the

changes during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century Turkey.

Family and Patriarchal Feminism

The Ottoman Empire, despite the fact that it was not colonized, can be considered having

experienced a type of colonialism when it took the West as a model in certain respects for the

purpose of solving the disintegration in the Empire during the late nineteenth century. Within this

perspective, nationalism and colonialism become useful terms to talk about the relationship

8

between the West and the Ottoman Empire. Chatterjee, in his work The Nation and its

Fragments, uses the term "anti-colonial nationalism," which "creates its own domain of

sovereignity within colonial society well before it begins its political battle with imperial power.

It does this by dividing the world of social institutions and practices into two domains-the

material and the spiritual." (6) Nationalism declares the "spiritual" as its sovereign domain where

it launches the fashioning of a "modern, national" culture. Family, usually defined as the sphere

of the female, is one of the sites of spiritual domain where the nation has the power to prevent

interference from outside forces. (Peteet) In the face of colonialism, culture has been the driving

motivation behind assertion of self-identities. "Cultural authenticity" (Peteet) has served as a

unifier in the process of fragmentation caused by the encounter with a new civilization. Women

have been equated with the primary agents who would establish, maintain, strengthen, and

transmit the indigenous 'authentic' cultures. (Peteet) Therefore, it has been generally considered

that male rulers and thinkers of societies have assigned several roles to women for the

enhancement of "the interests of the nation as a whole". With its patriarchal social structure, the

Ottoman Empire is assumed to have exercised its male hegemony over the female specifically in

the family, which surfaces as an essential place to search for definitions of individual identities

and gender relations.

Göle, in her examination of the relationships between modernism, religion and gender

relations, specifically in Turkey, focuses on the notion of women as agents and symbols of the

civilizing project of the reformists in the society. The patriarchal nature of the Turkish culture

reflected itself in the process of modernization as well. Women and family were considered to be

equal concepts, thus control over women was important in the building of a new society.

Women's help in the education of the members of the community came to the foreground. As

Göle points out: "Women would no longer be defined, consumers of the West, or the causes of

9

subversive acts; rather stripping off their former sexual identity, they would serve the nation for

'the people' as the 'companions' of men." (56) Any change in the conditions of women meant

change in the family, thus in the society as a whole since the chain among the three concepts

inevitably linked them together.

In her analysis of the ways in which women and the "women question" are depicted in

the Turkish novel during the Tanzimat period, Kandiyoti (1988) defined the historical period as a

"painful cultural search and enhanced self-consciousness." (35) She refers to the fact that; "the

'woman question' became part of an ideological terrain upon which concerns about the changing

nature of the Ottoman order and the questions of Ottoman and Turkish national identity were

articulated and debated." (35) She continues by saying that "The early reformer/novelist favored

the usage of male characters to depict the false values and anticommunitarian character of

Westernism, while focusing on the issue of women's plight in the family and society to criticize

customs deemed inhumane and archaic." (47) Kandiyoti (1988) points out the fact that female

heroines in some novels referred to "a primary preoccupation with the moral decay that

Westernization creates in women, or rather a predilection for female characters as the ideal

bearers of corruption and decay." (43) The women figures in novels served as models for the

Ottoman female but at the same time they functioned as conveyors of patriarchal messages about

the unacceptable Westernized female individual. Women were seen as causing "fitne" in the

society. The cultural concept of "fitne" was associated with the female, because women were

considered able to cause social chaos through their behaviour and dress. (see further explanation

in Chapter Five) At the same time women could educate children, bearing the ultimate good for

the whole society in their minds. Therefore, reformists and intellectuals of the period

conceptualized women as important agents in the promulgation of their agenda of Westernization.

This approach has been termed as "patriarchal feminism" as the enhancement of women's

0

conditions was formulated within the framework of the male perspective on the definition of the

female identity and roles in society.

Kemalist nationalism based its Westernization project to a certain extent on the family

and women, which constitutes an example to illustrate "patriarchal feminism." The ideology of

"patriarchal feminism" (Göle, Yeºim Arat, and Zehra Arat) may be considered as clarifying the

approach of male reformists, in patriarchal societies, towards the program of modernization.

While Westernization spoke of the "liberation" of women, it also meant male domination over

them, since the "acceptable woman" identity was to a great extent defined by male reformists in

the society. "Thus, the education and participation of women were seen as tools for national

development rather than as means that would enable them to create an individual consciousness

to exist 'for themselves' or develop a collective consciousness to form a gender class." (Zehra

Arat, 59) On the other hand, Yeºim Arat argues for a positive consequence of Kemalist

patriarchal feminism, as it resulted in a feminist movement in Turkey. Hence, she claims that a

positive result came out of the restrictive state feminism. Feminists started to criticize the limited

egalitarian reforms of the Republican age. The same ideology seems to have been influential on

the pre-Republican male intellectuals, who in their "liberating discourse" fell into the trap of

patriarchal feminism under the influence of the patriarchal nature of their culture.

The alaturka woman (Kandiyoti, 1988 and Göle) of the Anatolian region or the female in

a "pure" Turkish home was emphasized as the "pure woman," especially after the War of

Independence. It was essential in the struggle with the colonizer to keep the cultural identity,

values and traditions, which were symbolized by the rural female rather than the urban one. The

rural was conceived as the true, pure, natural, untouched site of culture. And women were agents

in educating children, they had roles in transmitting and sustaining cultural values, and they were

supporters of males. Thus, they were significant members especially for the sake of the welfare

1

of the community. The cooperation of the female and male was viewed as an important factor in

the Westernization of the country. Therefore, the woman question came to the surface in the

reformation procedure during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.

Peteet's analysis, in Authenticity and Gender, points out the fact that, in trying to

establish its essential cultural differences, the colonized uses the family, thus the female

individual representing the family, in order to create its nationalist power. Comparing and

contrasting the indigenous with the foreign, nations have found ways to ridicule, parody, or praise

both female and male types to show citizens the acceptable boundaries of their identities.

Societies have tried to define the social and moral principles for locating the position of women

particularly in the new nation. "Patriarchal feminism" in this way continued the inequality

between genders even within the discourse of modernization and Westernization that

paradoxically argued for the "liberation" of women as opposed to oppression. As several studies

have argued, it seems that the definition of gender and the formation of gender relations have

been influenced to a certain extent by male discourse in especially patriarchal and colonized

cultures that have been sites of struggles between the indigenous and new values, structures and

institutions. The research field of this paper, the late-Ottoman Empire and the early Republican

period of today's Turkey, serves as an example of a community in struggle with a Western

power's influence. The analysis of the formation of individual identities and gender relations

seems to require an examination of the "patriarchal feminist" discourse among the leading

intellectual reformists of the modernization program in order to understand the historical and

cultural changes in a society affected by the West.

2

Domestic Sphere and the Constructions of Individual Identities and Gender

Relations in the Household

Shami's examination of the relationship between domestic rituals and identity in North

Caucasus refers to the recognition by feminist scholarship of the significance of the domestic

sphere. Shami says that in studies done on the impact of Sovietization on ethnic identity, "the

domestic sphere is identified as having been the primary arena for the reproduction of ethnic and

religious identities..." (305) Relations of domination and subordination between women were

enacted through domestic rituals and within the framework of patriarchal social structure. Thus,

the private domain of the household supplies information on the ways in which female and male

identities were constructed.

Brinca's case study on Bosnian Muslims in the 1990s focuses on dialectical male and

female relationship in constructing self-identities. In the Bosnian culture, women are the

representatives of the household, which is reflected in communal gatherings. A new bride's

identity is accounted for by reference to her husband's name and position in the society. The fact

that a husband's absence or presence in the household determines whether a wife could attend

any of the usual social activities shows the male dominance in the family. The woman's

behaviour, social relations and identity are determined by the males in the household whose

social reputation was largely dependent on the actions of the females. Thus, the female

individual's self-identity was largely dependent upon the opposite sex while the male honor was

dependent on control of female behaviour. This example serves to understand the importance of

studying gender dialectically, without restricting it to the study of females alone but examining

the relationship with malea to achieve a full picture of the construction of gender relations and

individual identities. This example also refers to the fact that the household has served as a place

for the continuation of a certain form of individual identities and human relations. The cultural

3

perspectives on certain issues can be traced through the private domain within each culture whose

authority in relation with the external cultures is to a certain extent practiced and maintained in

the domestic sphere. Research on the late-Ottoman society and early Republican Turkey,

similarly, requires close attention to the discourse within the family between two genders to grasp

the changes in the formation of new gender relations within the framework of Westernization and

modernization.

Literature and Westernization

One of the primary sources for the examination of social and cultural transformations in

the late Ottoman and early Republican Turkey is the novel, which was used extensively as a

vehicle for the discussion of the process of Westernization during the Tanzimat period. Evin

quotes Berkeº and claims; "As Berkeº has explained, 'One of the consequences of Hamit's

suppression of political preoccupations was to force the intellectuals to focus upon non-political,

cultural questions...The focusing was sharpened by factors stemming from the Western impact

that the Hamidian suppression failed to prevent." (80) Ironically, a Western genre was used to

document undesirable aspects of Western influence. The writers introduced types of persons

beneficial to the society to exemplify the "right and proper" ways of Westernization. However,

"It could not be said that such fictional characters were representatives or had real counterparts in

the Turkish society...they were proposed as models showing how Westernization, properly

understood, would not lead to an absurd deviation from the received social and ethical norms."

(81) The issues that were debated in the novel provide information on the problems associated

with Westernization. The presence and absence of certain themes and questions in novels help

understand the ways in which the Ottoman society dealt with Western influence. Familial

relations, problems of arranged marriages, treatment of women, criticism of loss of morality, the

nature and extent of Westernization in Istanbul society, the concept of the individual self and the

4

European person as a model for the Ottoman one were among the themes taken up by the novels.

Therefore, in order to trace the changes in the society, the novel serves as a valuable source for

detailed analysis of Westernization as it shows the variety of traditional values and world-views

of the Ottoman/Turkish society.

Modernism and the non-West

The main concept that lies at the basis of this research is "modernism," which has

surrounded the issues about formation of individual identities and gender relations to a certain

extent, especially in the non-West. The equation of modernism and Westernization has resulted

in arguments about the Western hegemony over the term "modern." Intellectuals studying the

Middle East have argued for "multiple modernities" (Kandiyoti,1998 and Eisenstadt) as they

analyzed the various different versions of "modernism" within the non-West. Eisenstadt talks

about the "continual development of multiple modernities." (175) He argues that "the expansion

of modernity has to be viewed as the crystallization of a new type of civilization, not unlike the

expansion of great religions or great imperial powers in past times" (175) and continues by saying

that "the civilization of Modernity undermined the symbolic and institutional premises of the

societies that were incorporated into it, thus opening up new options and possibilities. As a result

of these continual interactions and responses there developed a great variety of modern or

modernising societies..." (176) Kandiyoti points out the interaction between the global and the

local, which has complicated the ability to reduce the variety of responses among cultures to

modernity. She refers to the fact that the complexities and contradictions of modernity have

frequently been overlooked in the arguments for the "positive" consequences of the movement

over the entire world.

Modernity has spread to most of the world, resulting in multiple cultural interpretations

and individual identities. Cultural and structural dimensions of Western modernism have been

5

reference points for other societies but, as studies have indicated, the developments in these

communities have surpassed the hegemonic dimensions of the Western program of modernity.

The continuous selection, reinterpretation, reformulation of Western themes and institutions gave

"rise to a continual crystallization of a new cultural and political programmes of modernity..."

(Eisenstadt, 182) Kandiyoti (1988) refers to the variety in a non-Western region as well: "To

what extent were contested images and attributions of tradition and modernity also mediated

through the internally heterogeneous nature of Middle Eastern societies (in terms of class,

religion and ethnicity), creating more proximate images of difference than those propagated by

the more distant imperial centers of Europe?" (272) Attending to local specifications, many

Middle East experts have advocated an awareness of the complexity of the region. This

complexity is a necessary premise of this paper, examining the formation of identities and gender

relations in Turkey because it leaves room for the appreciation of local specifications in the

interaction with the Western influence. This research paper, with its case study on a single

Middle Eastern country, attempts to illustrate the particular path of modernity a non-Western

country has followed in its struggle with the hegemony of the West in the formation of a viable

national identity. The detailed analysis of the late-Ottoman and early Republican changes aims to

contribute to the existing studies on the Middle East gender issues, by analyzing the construction

of individual identities and gender relations specifically with respect to the changes in the family.

Women's issues in the late-Ottoman Empire have been studied in terms of the legal, political and

economical changes in their lives. However, the existing literature seems to lack works on the

changes in the private domain of women and men. The societal changes, especially in the family,

need to be analyzed on a more detailed basis to grasp the re-definitions of female and male

individuals and gender relations. By finding Western elements in the definition of the Ottoman

and later Republican personal and social identities, and other Western ideals, values, institutions

6

in every day life, this research paper aims to point out the hegemonic relationship of the West

with the non-West and contribute to the understanding of contemporary issues in Turkey,

including the definition of personal and national identities.

The research paper starts with an introduction to the primary source, the Pertev Bey

series of three novels by Münevver Ayaºlý, and then continues with a detailed analysis of the

three novels in terms of main themes identified as significant for the writer herself and the

intellectuals of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century Turkey. The second chapter talks

about the visible Western and Eastern mixture in physical space, by analyzing the importance of

Istanbul and Ankara and the role of the physical surroundings of the family in the narrative to

search for the meaning of space for individual identities. The third chapter looks at the

dichotomy of East and West as it is reflected in the Ottoman and Republican types in Ayaºlý's

work to show the complex forms of identities existent during the period of transformation under

the impact of Westernization. The fourth chapter examines the institution of marriage and family

to trace the changes that have affected the gender roles. The understandings of arranged

marriages, head of the household, age in marriage, divorce, and nuclear and extended families are

some of the themes that this chapter looks at in order to point at the different aspects of individual

identities and gender relations. The fifth chapter explores issues such as the role of education in

the family, the concept of nation and its equation with the family, and the cultural value placed on

parental responsibilities in raising children for the sake of the community to see how different

understandings of education shaped individual identities and relations between the genders. The

conclusion summarizes the findings and draws out the implications that could be relevant to

understanding contemporary Turkey's struggles with the formation of individual identities in the

intersections between East and West, Modernism and tradition.

7

Endnotes:

Kemalism refers to the ideology formulated by the founder of the Republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and

his followers. He formed the Republic in 1923 and established six basic principles known as the six arrows

of the Republic: secularism, republicanism, communalism, legalism, nationalism and etatism. The belief

central to Atatürk and his followers was that Turkey had to modernize in order to become part of the

powerful and progressive Western civilization and in order to take its natural and rightful place in Western

civilization. Turkey would be recognized as a civilized nation as soon as some of its "backward" customs

or costumes were removed. Therefore, the Republican Turkish State started cultural, social, political

reforms in order to change the institutions from the Ottoman past that were considered as obstacles to

Westernization. The Kemalist program of modernization aimed at an organized, well-articulated process of

modernization to create a secular Republic on its way to catching up with the civilized nations of the West.

The emphasis on secularism of the Republic was one of the most powerful political forces, as it created a

significant gap in society. The Islamist in the country viewed secularism as an understanding that cut the

society off from its religious traditions. The political debates between the secularists and the Islamists

emerged with the end of Caliphate, in 1924, which represented the leadership of the Islamic world. The

conflicts between various binary oppositions which were set up in the late Tanzimat and early Republican

period have continued since the establishment of the Republic and thus, they have shaped and continue to

shape the formation of individual identities in today's Turkey.

8

Chapter One

Summary of the Pertev Bey Series

"The individual is the certain history of a particular community or of a minority group

and this individual is the novelist himself/herself" 1(133) says Tanpýnar in his essay in Baha

Dürder's Roman Anlayýºý. Tanpýnar's analysis of the new literary genre, the novel, that

developed during the Tanzimat period of the late-Ottoman Empire, shows his conviction that the

Turkish writer needs to make his/her inner self talk in literary creation since the individual soul is

the accommodation of the Turkish climate and the Turkish community. (134)

Many Turkish novelists, writing during the late-Ottoman Empire and early Republican

period, seem to have followed this principle pointed out by Tanpýnar. Starting with the Tanzimat

in 1839, literature, especially the novel, came to be associated with the country's drive for

modernization and Westernization. The new literary technique, imported from the West, served

as a tool to advocate or criticize aspects of the new cultural transformation. An intimate interest

in the fate of society became an important feature of Turkish literature. Some writers demanded

broader adjustment to the new social and political concepts, which were introduced along with

the administrative and political institutions borrowed from the West. Others criticized the change

in social values, ideas, and life styles that struck them as incompatible with the established

cultural traditions. Essentially, what these writers were doing was allowing their inner selves to

talk in their writing, thus bringing their own insight into the nature of the social issues that they

saw in their changing society as problematic. Literary attempts to reflect personal opinions,

through literature, on cultural, ethical, and material aspects of modernization serve as valuable

sources for research on the debated issues concerning Westernization in a non-Western culture.

9

The idea that needs to be kept in mind when reading the novels of the Tanzimat or later

periods is that the characters are not always truly reflective of the time. Fictional characters were

proposed as models to show the "proper" way of Westernization without deviating from the

received social and ethical norms. The novels would incorporate characteristics from the time in

which they were written to a certain extent but the fact of symbolization for the transmission of

messages on various issues remains as a significant perspective approaching literature to search

for particular world views in specific historical periods. This study bears in mind the dangers of

assuming that literature is a clear reflection of reality when examining the Pertev Bey series for

the transformations from the late Ottoman to Republican Turkey in the early twentieth century.

Münevver Ayaslý (1906-?) has emerged as one of the prominent women novelists among

modern Turkish writers whose works shed important information on the Westernization process

during the late-Ottoman Empire and early Republic. Because of her father's profession, she

traveled throughout different regions of the Ottoman Empire. Educated at German and French

schools, she also learned Arabic and Persian. In addition to her daily articles in newspapers, she

wrote books on history and her memoirs. Pertev Bey'in Üç Kýzý (The Three Daughters of Pertev

Bey--1968), Pertev Bey'in Ýki Kýzý (The Two Daughters of Pertev Bey--1969), and Pertev Bey'in

Torunlarý (The Grandchildren of Pertev Bey) are her novels, in which she describes the Turkish

culture as struggling through the variety of transformations brought about by the movement of

Westernization.

In my research for a primary source for this thesis, I had a hard time finding a narrative

that would include the dialectical relationship between two genders, especially within the family.

Some of the Tanzimat novels were mainly concerned with the materialism of the modernizing

Ottoman subject, while others narrowed their analysis down to certain types of individuals,

mainly male, that attempted to imitate the European, thus Western, ideologies. Other novels have

20

already been studied many times in a variety of research projects. For the purpose of

contributing to Middle Eastern gender studies, I kept looking for a novel that had not been

analyzed to a great extent. As I have not come across a substantial amount of work done on

Ayaslý's Pertev Bey series, I decided to study the narrative about the life of a disintegrating

Ottoman family during the early Republican years. Ayaslý's account on Pertev Bey and his

family, by incorporating three generations, seems to be very useful for the questions relating to

the changes in individual identities and gender relations as the story includes many characters

from different age groups, cultures and both genders with different perspectives on social issues

of that time. Family relationships surface enhancing the value of the research because of the rich

information supplied on the transformations in the gender roles in the Ottoman family. One big

challenge that I had to face in my research was the translation of the sections of the novel into

English from the original Turkish. Despite the difficulties, the translation helped me see some of

the social changes by attracting my attention to the literal meaning of certain words that had

traditional or modernist connotations. The detailed analysis of specific concepts, which define

the characteristics of the Ottoman culture, contributed to the research by shedding light upon the

differences between two cultures.

Ayaslý starts her first book by introducing the members of the colonel Pertev Bey's2

household. With his wife Azize Hanýmefendi 3 he raises his daughters Sermin, Berrin and

Nermin in his big kösk4 that includes many servants. Bezmiyar Kalfa5, Lala6 Dilaver Aga7,

Katina, Mürebbiye8, Matmazel Durand, Karanfil Kalfa, and Fraulein Sturm are the servants that

are part of the big household of the köºk that is situated into the history of the early years of the

twentieth century Ottoman Empire. Pertev Bey is a very cultured military official who has served

the country in many wars. He has been educated in Germany, and so the way he raises his

children is a mixture of European and Ottoman styles. Pertev Bey's sister Nuhbe Hanýmefendi,

21

who, in Ayaslý's opinion, is a reflection of the Ottoman lady, has a close relationship with the

family. Her son Halet, symbolizing the Ottoman gentleman like his uncle, follows him in the

same military profession. After his return from Marseilles, he develops a love relationship with

his cousin Selmin that unfortunately does not last long as Halet dies during the First World War

when the Ottoman Empire fights along with Germany. His mother passes away as well shortly

after him. Ayaslý's plot makes use of the death of an ideal suitor, by leading Selmin into socially

unacceptable relationships with three morally corrupted men, Gani, Sehzade and Cavidan, who

represent the new male individuals of the revolutionary Ittihat Terakki Party 9rule.

While Selmin's two sisters, in accordance with the new educational reforms for women,

start to attend schools, Selmin, under the emotional disappointment with her unsuccessful love

relationship with the "right" male type represented by Halet, chooses a false road for her future.

Her sensual journey ends with her realization of the importance of a spiritual life, which she finds

at the end of the first novel when she is introduced to Arif Dede Efendi. 10 Berrin and Nermin

stand for the newly emerging type of the Republican woman. They are constantly juxtaposed to

the female type from the Ottoman past represented by Nuhbe Hanýmefendi, Azize Hanýmefendi,

Bezmiyar Kalfa and Karanfil Kalfa whose Ottoman style personal names communicate to the

Turkish reader the relatively traditional identity of their personalities. The Ottoman ladies are

from a different generation, thus, they criticize the young generations' education. Ayaslý seems

to be on the Ottoman side in terms of her cultural standpoint on the same issue. Selmin's return

to her "true Ottoman" self in her struggle for a self-identity reflects Ayaslý's choice for a cultural

identity of the individual living in the early Republican years after the disintegration of the

Empire. The first novel mainly traces Selmin's progression from being a fragmented individual

that symbolized the cultural dualism in the Empire, to possessing unified personal identity.

22

At the end of the first novel, Berrin has become a doctor taking care of the household,

financially having replaced the patriarchal role of her father. The youngest daughter, Nermin,

who, in contrast to her two older sisters, has grown up mainly during the early Republican

Turkey, marries Muammer who symbolizes the Republican male with the new values, life styles

and world-views. Nermin, having been raised fully in the changing social environment, has a

different personality from her sisters. Ayaslý tells the reader that Nermin has the tendencies of the

new Republican generation towards material wealth and personal satisfaction with "worldly"

affairs. Pertev Bey has died during the First World War, so the family is faced with the

difficulties of making decisions on its own from that moment on.

The Two Daughters of Pertev Bey, the second novel, starts with Selmin's Ottoman

konak11 where the whole family has gathered after their accommodation in a variety of houses

due to financial circumstances during the wars. Nermin and Muammer, with their son Baskýn,

live in Ankara, the new capital of the Republic. They frequently visit Nermin's family in Istanbul

while they exemplify the ideals of the new Ankara elite type of lifestyle. Attending balls,

gambling, dressing up, moving from Ankara to Istanbul for a short time during the year became

practices of the new Republican society. Selmin gets seriously sick and dies after reaching

purification from her past sins of unlawful sexual relationships with three different men. Arif

Dede Efendi turns out to be the spiritual support in her journey towards heaven. Ayaslý

constantly refers to the historical events of the 1900s, such as the Balkan War, First World War,

the revolution by the Young Turks and the Republican social, cultural and political reforms.

Thus, the reader is provided with a narrative, which brings historical events to life by connecting

them to narratives of family, individual identity and gender relations.

After Selmin's death, Azize Hanýmefendi leaves for Ankara to live with Nermin,

Muammer, their son Baskýn, daughter Selmin, named for her aunt, and Muammer's mother

23

Sýdýka Haným who is another representative of the "older" generation by being from a "pure,

Anatolian" origin. Karanfil Kalfa dies a few months later. Berrin takes Matmazel Durand to the

French hospital because of her insanity after Selmin's death. Bezmiyar Kalfa is sent to Ankara as

well and Berrin continues to practice her profession as a doctor in Istanbul. Ayaslý gives her the

opportunity to travel through a spiritual path as well, by allowing her to visit the military martyr

Halet's grave in Çanakkale. Berrin, with the help of some religious people that she meets while

looking for the disappeared Arif Dede Efendi, visits several renowned religious people titled

"evliya."12 That becomes the beginning of her realization of her "true" Ottoman self through

which she might reach the stage of perfection. The rest of the second novel mainly pictures

Nermin and Muammer's life style, which stands for the Republican model. Muammer goes into

corrupted politics and becomes one of the domineering, selfish, materialist, arrogant politicians

that the writer strongly resents. Ayaslý gives a detailed account of the historical events criticizing

the political system for its disruption of the unity, morality, and religion in the society. The

Republican respect and love for America and all the values it represents come to the surface as

Baskýn leaves for an education in that new country. The degeneration caused by this move to a

totally different and unacceptable world is severely criticized by Ayaslý whose celebration of the

Ottoman civilization pervades throughout her work. Muammer has one of several affairs with a

younger woman when Nermin moves to Istanbul with the children to overcome the boredom of

Ankara. Azize Hanýmefendi and Sýdýka Hanýmefendi pass away as well and Pertev Bey's two

daughters are left alone without anybody reminding them of their "true cultural identity." The

book ends with their realization of the cultural burden on their shoulders because of the

disappearance of the older generation from their lives. Berrin and Nermin, in a way similar to

Selmin at the end of the first book, are in search for a spiritual path that will guide them to the

right track in life.

24

The third novel narrates mainly the lives of the grandchildren, thus Nermin's children

Baskýn, Aydýn, Tülay and Selmin. The first three children's dislike towards their country and

their engagement in the communist and socialist political groups are severely criticized by the

writer. In this book, Muammer divorces Nermin and marries Hilal who represents the corrupted

female of the Republican regime. Her materialistic concerns are accompanied with her thirst for

political and social power, thus she gets involved in bribery and intricate deceptive plans in order

to reach her own desires. She destroys the life of Muammer by distancing him from his family.

Aydýn marries a Jewish girl named Iren and Tülay marries the alcoholic and communist Naili.

Muammer strongly disapproves of these marriages but is unable to stop this rebellious youth of

the new age. At a certain point, he regrets his life and re-establishes his connection with his

former family. He is able to achieve communication again, seemingly, because his Anatolian

background saves him from becoming a real Republican corrupt individual. Nermin and Berrin

have started to pray regularly, cover their heads and go to a religious leader for spiritual guidance.

Selmin marries Ayhan and they have a daughter named Azize. Despite the fact that Selmin turns

into a representative of the Republican lady, Ayaslý allows her to become religious as well under

the influence of her mother and aunt, thus she is saved from a tragic life. Aydýn and Baskýn are

the ones shown as suffering from terrible lives deserting their homelands for France and America

respectively. Tülay is saved in the end of the story by turning religious together with her mother,

sister and aunt. The narrative ends with the episode where Nermin and Berrin go to Mecca to

perform the pilgrimage. Berrin settles down in Mecca, while Nermin returns to her daughters in

Istanbul continuing a life of happiness. Through the conscious awareness of practicing the

fundamental principles of Islam, some of the members of the Pertev Bey's household are shown

to have achieved a truly comfortable and happy life.

25

The three novels, by tracing the three generations during the late Ottoman and early

Republican Turkey, illustrate the struggle for the formation of individual identities and gender

relations in the society during the early twentieth century. As the following four chapters will

examine, the effects of Westernization transformed the understandings of the individual self, thus

changing the definitions of the female and male identities and gender relations. This study aims

to search for the framework within which Münevver Ayaslý delineated the identity of the

Ottoman-Republican Turkish individual of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.

26

Endnotes:

I have translated myself the passages taken from Ahmet Hamdi Tanpýnar's analysis of the novel in Roman

Anlayýºý edited by Baha Dürder.

2 The word "Bey" was one of the social titles given to men in general to show respect. As surnames were

not introduced until after the formation of the Republic, people addressed each other by attaching these

titles after first names. Ayaslý uses them each time when she names her characters, so I am using the same

method throughout my thesis to refer to the individuals in the novels. This usage continues to some extent

in contemporary Turkey.

3 The same criteria for "Bey" apply to the word Hanýmefendi as well. Ayaslý has named Pertev Bey's wife

as such, which I continue to use in the same way.

4 "Köºk" means villa or pavilion that was pretty common among the ruling groups in the Ottoman society.

These big houses accommodated frequently extended families with the grandparents and a variety of

servants from different ethnic communities in the Empire.

5 Kalfa was a title for elderly domestic servant in the Ottoman society. It was common among the ruling

elite to include such servants as supporters for the Hanýmefendi in raising the children. Ayaslý uses this as

well when referring to her characters in the novel.

6 Lala was used for manservant assigned to the care of a child. It was also used in the Ottoman palace by

Sultans to refer to their grand vezir (minister) who was the tutor to the Sultan's child.

7 Aga had many meanings in the Ottoman culture. One meaning that applies to Ayaslý's usage of the term

is the head male servant in a great man's household.

8 Mürebbiye was a term used to refer to a governess, who became a common individual in the Ottoman

household helping the raising of the children. Some of them would be of European origin, especially those

during the late Ottoman Empire.

9 Ittihat ve Terakki Cemiyeti, the Committee of Union and Progress, came to power at 1908 and ruled till

918.

0 Arif Dede Efendi represents one of the spiritual leaders that were common in the Ottoman society, of

which the majority followed the religion Islam. The religious orders of the Sufis were banned during the

early years of the Republic when the movement of secularism became one of the concerns of the new

political system. The literal meaning of Ayaslý's character's name is the following: "Arif" means "wise",

"dede" is literally "grandfather" while it acquires the meaning "sheikh" in mystical orders. "Efendi" has

the connotations of "gentleman and master" while it was also used as a title given to literate people,

members of the clergy, Ottoman princes, army officers up to major.

1 Konak means "mansion, residence" which is also used in the novel to refer to the type of buildings from

the Ottoman past. It is big enough to accommodate typical extended Ottoman families with a number of

servants and governesses.

2 Evliya means Muslim saintlike person.

27

Chapter Two

The Visible Mixture of Western and Eastern in Physical Space

Symbolism of Istanbul and its Neighbourhoods

Halide Edip Adývar makes a reference to the poem "Mist" by Tevfik Fikret in her

analysis of the conflict of East and West in Turkey. She evaluates the message conveyed by the

poet composing during the reign of Abdülhamid II:

'Mist'. This is a picture of the moral degeneration and misery of the city of Istamboul. The poet

looks at it through one of those beautiful white mists which fall over the city and over the Bosphorus

at times. He sees the tyranny from above, the debauchery, the luxury of the rich around the seat of

absolutism and the demoralisation and the destitution of those below seethe and boil and form

contrasting pictures. Istamboul is to him the Byzantinised Turkey. The refrain of the poem is, "Veil

thou, O City, O Tragedy, veil thou and sleep forever." Istamboul is the sinner of the age. (200)

The symbolism of cities has often been used in literature serving as a useful generalization tool

for evaluating the state of the society. Several intellectuals, who wrote on the societal changes

during the late Ottoman Empire and early Republican period, applied a similar approach towards

their analysis of historical changes. The comparison between Istanbul, representing the Ottoman

Empire, and Ankara, the new capital of the Turkish Republic, as the image of the Republic was

taken up by some writers in their evaluations of the social, political and cultural transformations

influenced by Westernization.

In Fikret's poem, the metaphor of mist over the main center of the Empire suggests in

Adývar's opinion negativity, pessimism, and darkness associated with the conditions of the city.

Istanbul in 1900s was the nexus for the diverse influences from various parts of the empire in

Europe, Asia, and Africa. It was a place of attraction for many of the ethnic communities living

within the boundaries of the Ottoman Empire. Istanbul, because of its geographical location,

historical, cultural, and political significance, became one of the first places in the Empire where

28

influence of Westernization was first felt and perhaps was most lasting. It can be argued that the

imperial center served as a primary point for the processes of Westernization of the Ottoman

society. Thus, it arose as a significant site for intellectuals, who mostly lived there, to discuss

their concerns, anxieties, worries, ideas related to the changes brought about especially by the

reforms of the Tanzimat in 1839.

Münevver Ayaslý's novel Pertev Bey'in Üç Kýzý is set in early twentieth century Istanbul

and the narrative moves into Ankara. The novel appears to be an example of how the writers

have emphasized the significance of this historical city. Ayaslý's novel starts off with the

architectural depiction of a konak influenced by the new trend of Westernization in the Empire.

The writer's juxtaposition of "Eastern" and "Western" elements throughout her three novels

about this family is evident on the very first page. The neighborhood is "Moda" in Istanbul,

(literally meaning "fashion") representing one of the Europeanized parts of the city. Ayaslý tells

the reader that the British, and some of the Dutch had settled in neighborhoods such as Moda,

Bebek, Kandilli, Pendik and Yakacýk, which are even in today's Istanbul known as "European"

parts of Istanbul, most generally accommodating the rather wealthy and elite families that aspire

to the ideals of Western cultures. These Europeanized places were frequently used in literature to

refer to the physical changes in Istanbul influenced by the West.

Peyami Safa, in his novel Fatih-Harbiye, uses a similar symbolism with these

neighborhoods of Istanbul as representations of cultural types. While Fatih stands for the East,

Harbiye reflects everything that is Western. Fatih, named after the conqueror of Istanbul, could

be viewed as the representative of the Ottoman heritage. Harbiye, one of the centers for the

military schools, could be interpreted as the place representing the area in which the very first

Western reforms were introduced into the Empire. The life style of people located in Harbiye,

their clothing, cultural interests, emphasis on education abroad, knowledge of foreign languages,

29

and their general follow-up with the cultural, historical, social events in Europe separate them

from the rest of the public that lives in much more "traditional" neighborhoods where the same

list does not find much room for itself. Daryo Mizrahi, in his analysis of Safa's novel, draws

attention to the cultural divide reflected in physical space: "Neriman's eyes perceive the magic of

the West and the distastefulness of the East. She compares the scent of perfume in a western

shop with the nauseating smell of hacýyagý 1perfumes sold by an Arab in the Beyazýt market. In

the European section of Istanbul 'everything on display [in shop windows] individually

commanded and possessed attention.'" (90) Mizrahi also quotes the passage that verbalizes

Neriman's thoughts: "The neighborhood I live in, the house I live in, and most of the people I talk

to are getting on my nerves. When you pass by that square of Fatih you see all these people

sitting in the coffeehouses, idle and old-fashioned...." (92) "In the European section, she

whispers to herself that 'even the shopkeepers are men of taste. One feels one is strolling in a

garden. All the shop windows are attractive...And the people are so different...They don't stare

at you. They know how to walk, how to dress.'" (92-3) The protagonist needs to make a choice

between "two worlds, between the status quo of Fatih-that is East-completely furnished with

family harmony, with father and husband and the soothing tunes of oriental music and poetry, and

the novelty of Harbiye with attractive yet unpredictable features." (Mizrahi, 93) Description of

physical space provides clues about social transformations under the impact of Westernization.

Ayaslý makes use of the power of space as well and she starts her story by giving a

detailed description of the konak in a European neighborhood of Istanbul. The striking

characteristic of the konak is that it is in the Viktoryen, Hamidyen and Witholliyen styles (I: 5-6).2

Thus, it has the features of the Victorian architecture, such as wide, oil painted living rooms with

fire places and the Hamidian small balconies spreading the atmosphere of the age of Sultan

Abdülhamid II . Ayaslý also explains the term Witholliyen for the reader, which serves as a

30

definition for the combination of Victorian and Hamidian. This initial picture of a Western and

Eastern mixed building in a European neighborhood of Istanbul prepares the reader for an

intensive study of the late Ottoman society's Westernization.

Ayaslý's story is situated within actual historical events beginning in 1900. She

realistically narrates her story within the boundaries of the late-Ottoman, early Republican period.

Therefore, the historical records on this period provide supportive explanations for her narrative

on the disintegration of an Ottoman yet partly Westernized family.

With respect to the physical changes that seem to attract her attention, Dogan Kuban's

Istanbul'un Batýlýlasmasý ve Batýlýlýgý3, (The Process of Westernization of Istanbul and its

Westernness), appears as a source in understanding the significance of architecture in Ottoman

modernization. In his historical analysis of the structural changes in Istanbul towards a European

identity, Kuban lists several steps taken by several Sultans throughout history, to change the

external outlook of the imperial city. Kuban cites several examples in order to convey the idea of

Istanbul's "early" Westernization starting even before the Tanzimat in 1839: Ahmet III was

responsible for the establishment of a palace like Fontainebleau, Abdülaziz decided to destroy the

Topkapý shore palace for railway purposes, the Sultans moved from Topkapý to Dolmabahçe,

Abdülhamit ordered Raimondo d'Aronco to build a theater in Yýldýz, and people living in

Süleymaniye moved to Moda and Nisantasý (285). Kuban terms these activities as attempts to

create a physical environment appropriate to a European image (285). He mentions the fact that

the founding of huge buildings and the introduction of the Barok and Rokoko styles were part of

the Westernization plan of Istanbul (286). Later, during the early eighteenth century, the reforms

in the military were responsible for the emergence of Western style buildings that initially were

for accommodation of the military of the Empire. As many thinkers have pointed out, the

reforms started within the military and spread to other social, cultural, and political aspects of the

31

Empire. Architectural changes were among the initial steps in imitation of the West. Imitating

the transformations in the West had become part of the solutions offered for the disintegration of

the Empire. Michael Reimer, who reviewed Zeynep Çelik's The Remaking of Istanbul: Portrait

of an Ottoman City in the Nineteenth Century, argues the following about the architecture of

Istanbul; "The urban fabric was, to an extent, 'regularized' by the introduction of law codes and

principles of design based on western models of urban space." (97) Ayaslý's reference to the

multicultural identity of Pertev Bey's konak seems to offer a good example to literally view the

change in the identity of the Ottoman society during the early Republican period. The hybrid

nature of the konak symbolizes the complex aspect of the individuals' identities living in the

house.

The Hybrid Nature of the Konak

The konak was used in novels because the crowded, well-off and cultured families of the

late nineteenth century Istanbul chose these big buildings as places of accommodation. Living in

a konak was pretty common as it allowed the existence of at least three generations within one

space that had become an important part of the cultural traditions. Pertev Bey's household, in

line with the Ottoman cultural framework, includes the nuclear family consisting of his wife

Azize Hanýmefendi and daughters Sermin, Berrin and Nermin together ...

Manipulating the Personal Journeys of Identity: Westernization and the Ottoman and Republican understandings of gender in Turkey.

This is a preview of the whole essay

Document Details

Related Essays

"The role of westernization in the undermining of arranged marriages- is th...

Discuss the ways in which hair style and other aspects of personal appearan...

Effects of the Internet on Identity.

Dark Tourism: manipulating tourists interpretation