An original and local novel : Tiflî Efendi

Abstract

This article aims to emphasize the aesthetical characteristics of Tiflî Efendi stories which are considered as a kind of meddah stories and analyze Tiflî Efendi stories as an original text. Characters, their features, interior monologues, descriptions and correspondences between cause and effect in Tiflî Efendi stories could prove that these stories are the "local novels" created by historical and social conditions of Tiflî Efendi's era. The supposed existence of "local motives" in Tiflî Efendi stories are discussed on the basis of "localness" definition of Greory Jusdanis in his book Gecikmiş Modernlik ve Estetik Kültür. In this way, the general opinion which claims that "novel" kind imported from western literatures and, without considering differences, classifies all meddah stories according to their moral messages will be discussed.