Mai ve Siyah
Citation:
Author:
Halit Ziya Uşaklıgil
Context:
servet-i fünun, considered among the first mature Turkish novels, serialized in the magazine in 1898
Summary:
The novel follows its central character Ahmet Cemil, an aspiring poet, as he tries to hustle in Ottoman Istanbul. His father dies while he is young (I believe being an orphan was a requirement of characters in Ottoman novels) and he is still in school and Ahmet has to try to find a way to make ends meet and support his family. His school buddy Hüseyin Nazmi helps convince him to work as a translator for a newspaper and this marks his introduction into the world of printing. He is able to quickly work his way up in the world, although his true passion lies in his own aspirations to write avant-garde poetry influenced by French work. And he is full of the stuff. There are passages which go on for pages and pages about the color of the sky, or how Ahmet's feelings of sadness and melancholy are overwhelming him. It parodies itself. Uşakligil was the foremost writer among the literary movement known as servet-i fünun which was formed through a magazine of the same name. The language is baroque, metaphoric, and in no rush to get anywhere (which explains why Ahmet Mithat criticized it as remote from common speech and why I had such a hard time reading it in 2010). Ahmet Cemil is given the opportunity to become a part-owner and operator of the print house along with his new brother-in-law, it all gets screwed up when he realizes that his sister is being verbally and physically abused. Ahmet is able to finally present his poetry to some literatis, and is well-received, but it is all over shadowed by his own personal misfortunes. Oh, and he is also in (shallow) love with his friend's sister Lamia but she gets betrothed to someone else.
Characters:
Ahmet Cemil: Romanın başkahramanıdır. Huzurlu, mesut ve kendi kendisine yeten mütevazı bir ailenin çocuğudur.
İkbal: Ahmet Cemil’in kız kardeşidir.
Vehbi Bey: Ahmet Cemil’in çalıştığı Mir’at-ı Şuûn gazetesinin ortaklarından biri olan Tevfik Efendi’nin oğludur.
Hüseyin Nazmi: Ahmet Cemil’in en yakın arkadaşıdır.
Lâmia: Ahmet Cemil’in yakın arkadaşı Hüseyin Nazmi’nin kız kardeşidir.
Raci: Mir’at-ı Şuûn gazetesinin yazarlarındandır.
Ali Şekip: Mir’at-ı Şuûn gazetesinin en bilgili yazarıdır.
Themes:
black vs. blue (hope/aspirations) , the development of avant-garde poetry, psychological description, realism, the west vs. traditional poetry culture
notes:
Romanlardan ve büyük oranda hayattan öğrendiğimiz kadarıyla aydınların talihi hep makûstur: (u)mutsuzluk ve hayal kırıklığı… Hayaller ve ütopyalar onların varoluş dinamiğiyse şayet, gerçeğin kara duvarı da bu varoluş dinamiğinin parçalandığı andır. Sonrası simgesel ya da gerçek bir ölümdür.
Werther’den, Naçayev’e, Raskolnikov’dan, Herzen’e, Rimbaud’dan, Selim Işık’a, edebiyatın gerçekliği içinde Mai’nin gönüllü temsilcileri olarak Siyah’lara karşı mücadele içindedirler. Gelin görün ki gerçeğin edebiyatı bambaşkadır; Siyah her zaman kendi solgun rengini korumaktadır ve o koyu karanlık Mai’liği absorbe etmektedir. Siyah, bir ölü toprağıdır. Sonrası hezeyandır.
Quotes:
Bu siyah bir gece idi… öyle bir gece ki gökler bütün kandillerini söndürerek denizlere gayp aleminin gizli şeylerini dökmek için hazırlanmış gibiydi…yalnız vapurun kırmızı feneri bu siyahlıklar arasında açılmış uzak bir kırmızı göz gibi parlıyordu.