Tanzimat romanında kamusal alan ve serbest zaman etkinlikleri
Author
Günaydın, Ayşegül Utku
Advisor
Mignon, Laurent
Date
2007Publisher
Bilkent University
Language
English
Type
ThesisItem Usage Stats
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Abstract
The Tanzimat period overtly accelareted the Westernization process and as
such, it brought about various socio-cultural changes, and these changes are
distinctly observed in the realms of public sphere and leisure activities which
represent social vivacity to the greatest degree. Hence, the focus of this thesis is the
detailed study of the reflection of this social transformation in the Tanzimat novel
with reference to the theories of public sphere and leisure. To this end, five Tanzimat
novels, which stand out among others on the grounds of their emphasis on public
sphere and leisure, constitute this thesis’s object of study. These novels, written in
the second half of the nineteenth century, in order of their year of publication are:
Akabi Hikyayesi (1851) by Vartan Paşa, Esrâr-ı Cinayât (1884) by Ahmet Mithat
Efendi, Araba Sevdası (1889-Year of publication: 1896) by Recaizade Mahmut
Ekrem, Udî (1899) by Fatma Aliye Hanım and Bir Kadının Hayatı (1890) by
Mehmet Celâl. In the discussion of public sphere and leisure activities presented in
these novels, the status of men and women are analyzed in their particular contexts
and also from a comparative view-point. A primary conclusion drawn from this
comparative analysis is that, in these novels, the changes in people’s everyday lives,
induced by the Westernization process, are made manifest mainly through the
integration of certain symbols of Western society into the new life styles and through
the reformation of the public sphere. It is also worthy of attention that although the
reshaping of the public sphere is chiefly determined by secularisation and the
promotion of a new conception of entertainment, the public sphere still serves, above
all, the socialization of men, especially those from the elite class; it is evident in
these novels that the factor of social class is the dominant factor in the reformation of
public sphere and leisure. Consquent to the discussion of how men’s and women’s
leisure activities differ from one another and how these activities bring forth
masculine and feminine discourses, it has become apparent, contrary to the general
assumption, that the extent to which these activities are indicators of social status
vary greatly. This thesis aims, accordingly, to account for and interpret the
connections between the formation of public sphere, leisure and gender as well as
different social statuses in the Tanzimat novel.
Keywords
Tanzimat novel, Westernization, public sphere, leisure activitiesWesternization
public sphere
leisure activities