A Neglected Fact of Armenian History and Culture in Constantinople in the Second Half of the Nineteenth Century: Elpis Kesaratsian and the Magazine Guitar (1861–1863)

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article focuses on Elpis Kesaratsian (1830–1913), the first Armenian female editor who founded and published the Guitar magazine (1861–63) but has been neglected in the field of Armenian history and culture studies for more than 160 years. This study sheds light on the geopolitical and historical contexts in Constantinople in the second half of the nineteenth century, the imperial censorship, the criticism regarding the magazine Guitar, the unbreakable will that the first Armenian female editor, who also acted as a writer, journalist, and translator, Elpis Kesaratsian was guided by throughout her life as a representative of a Christian national minority living in the nineteenth century Ottoman Empire. The many roles of Elpis Kesaratsian, including those of woman-editor, woman-publicist, woman-publisher, woman-book author, woman-translator, woman-lead nurse, woman-teacher that she fulfilled under the oppression and censorship of the Ottoman Empire, were revealed through investigative, biographical and comparative analyses. Our findings revealed that Elpis Kesaratsian’s main goal was the improvement of society.