Anatolia in the Romantic Novels of Resat Nuri Guntekin

Reşat Nuri Güntekin (1889-1956), acknowledged as one of the founders of National Literature, is an author who made important contributions to Turkish literature by the fictional and non-fictional books he wrote after the publication of his famous Çalıkuşu, which was printed in 1922. His place in Turkish literary canon is determined by the fact that he treated Anatolia, which was a disregarded subject till the National Literature Movement, as a main theme in his works. Güntekin, as a writer concerned with social affairs, draws full attention to the underdeveloped and neglected Anatolia, the problems in the education system, the poverty and ignorance of the Anatolians, and the inequalities inherent in the social system. He also provided remedies for the mentioned problems. Criticism on Reşat Nuri’s work generally discusses the above-mentioned aspect of his literary output, and problematizes the representation of Anatolia in the “social novels”, as Cevdet Kudret calls them, such as Acımak (1928), Yeşil Gece (1928), Miskinler Tekkesi (1946), Kavak Yelleri (1961), Kan Davası (1962). This study discusses how Anatolia is represented by the narrators of the following “romantic novels” of Reşat Nuri Güntekin: Harabelerin Çiçeği (The Flower of the Ruins, 1918), Gizli El (The Secret Hand, 1920), Çalıkuşu (The Wren, 1922), Damga (The Stigma, 1924), Dudaktan Kalbe (From Lips to Heart, 1925), Akşam Güneşi (The Sunset, 1926), Bir Kadın Düşmanı (A Misogynist, 1927), Eski Hastalık (The Old Pain, 1938), and Ateş Gecesi (Night of Fire, 1942). The first section of the article entitled as “The Position of the Narrator as a Viewer of Anatolia” discusses from which point of view Anatolia and Anatolians are represented. The novels of Güntekin analyzed in this study are centered around protagonists who are either exiled to Anatolia from Istanbul or who feel themselves as “exiles” in Anatolia, and the representation of Anatolia is determined by their character traits. Broken hearted Feride (Çalıkuşu), who flees to Anatolia in order to find consolation; Şeref (Gizli El), who has to work as a treasury clerk in Gemlik since he cannot find a job in Istanbul; İffet (Damga), who has no choice other than working in Anatolia because he has a bad reputation as a burglar in Istanbul; Süleyman (Harabelerin Cicegi), who avoids society because of his fire-deformed face; composer Hüseyin Kenan (Dudaktan Kalbe), who begins to miss his birthplace when he loses his popularity in Istanbul; Züleyha (Eski Hastalık), who is forced to live in Anatolia by her father; Nazmi (Akşam Güneşi), who takes refuge in the country because of his illness; Jülide (Akşam Güneşi), who has to live with Nazmi and his wife because of the loss of her mother and father; Sâra (Bir Kadın Düşmanı), who prefers to attend the marriage ceremony of her cousin in a village nearby Istanbul instead of spending her vacation with her father in Erzurum; and Kemal Murat (Ateş Gecesi), who is exiled to Milas are all outsiders in Anatolia. The protagonists of the novels, some of whom have been to Europe, are generally Istanbulites, who have knowledge of one or two foreign languages; and they are forced to live in Anatolia. Therefore, Anatolia and Anatolians are represented from the point of view of Istanbulites. It is recognized as a place of exile by the majority of Reşat Nuri Güntekin’s characters, and thus implies a place of temporary residence which is not adopted. In short, “periphery” is depicted by the ones from the “center”. The character representing Anatolia is viewing it as an “outsider”. The second section of the article entitled as “Country Experiences of the Characters” discusses how Şeref of Gizli El, Kenan of Dudaktan Kalbe, and Nazmi of Akşam Güneşi share common experiences of Anatolia. Anatolia, for the male protagonists, is a place of exile where the “self” is experienced as entrapped and dreams about future are withered. It is pointed out in the third section of the article entitled

Keywords

National Literature Movement, romantic novels, representation of Anatolia, center / periphery, exile