| dc.description.abstract | Love and Object Relations in the Novels of Halit Ziya Uşaklıgil
Love has been one of the most common themes in world literature at all times.
The long-lasting effect of love on an individual’s life stems from its deep-rooted
significance for the psyche. In this M.A. thesis the themes of love and self-sacrifice in
the novels of Halit Ziya Uşaklıgil (1865-1945) are examined in depth through the
methods of psychoanalytic criticism.
Many Turkish critics consider Halit Ziya Uşaklıgil to be the first Turkish novelist
on account of the maturity and psychological depth of his writings when this genre was
newly developing. Uşaklıgil, who wrote in almost every genre of literature, usually
deals with unrequited or unhappy love affairs, which often end in tragic loss, suicide or
other forms of disaster. The author’s propensity for the tragic turns his novels into rich
embodiments of textual material for psychoanalytically-based literary investigations.
In this study, the concept of libido first developed by Sigmund Freud, and
various analytical concepts in the realm of object relations theory first developed by
Melanie Klein will be employed as key terms of analysis. Although the views of these
theorists differ in certain respects, their approach to the individual’s psychosexual
development and the problems faced in the process of love may be considered
complementary.
In view of these and other theorists’ analysis of love, we conclude that love is a
process of transformation in which “the other” becomes part of the ego together with all
of its psychological consequences. In the ego’s search for bliss, the sense of security
that the prospect of the unification of the ego with the other presents, turns the beloved
into the ultimate object. However, the ego structures of the lovers determine whether
the outcome of the relationship will be happy or not. Hence, when the beloved becomes
the sole reason for one’s existence—as in the novels of Halit Ziya Uşaklıgil—
relinquishing all other object representations and threatening the independence of ego
structures, love turns unavoidably into tragedy.
In this thesis, Aşk-ı Memnu (Forbidden Love, 1900) and Mai ve Siyah (Blue and
Black, 1897), two masterpieces of Uşaklıgil as well as of Turkish literature, are studied
in depth in terms of love and object relations. Both novels present various characters
who are dragged into tragedy because of the very constitution of their psyche. The study
also investigates the patterns of love in the earlier novels of the author in order to
compare these novels with the said masterpieces and verify the findings. | en_US |
