Deciphering the Boundaries of Ottoman Armenian Female Identity in Zabel Yesayan’s My Soul in Exile

Abstract

Deciphering the boundaries of female identity in the history of thoughts has been a deep-seated problematic issue since the mainstream, throughout the centuries, put strong emphasis on non-feminist discourses. When specifically focused on the Ottoman Empire, the circumstances, and obstacles that women encounter had no difference than their European counterparts. Ottoman Empire which was a land of different cultures, religions, and ethnic groups, witnessed a fundamental shift in terms of women rights in the 19th century. As a pattern of the Empire, the Ottoman Armenian women writers shed light on some postcolonial issues as well as feminist ones almost a century ago before it is theorized. The concepts of unhomeliness and hybridity as universal ideas are proven to be also timeless in the works of Zabel Yesayan, an Ottoman Armenian women writer, particularly in My Soul in Exile. This study aims to analyze the cultural richness of the women’s rights movements in the Ottoman Empire fed by different shareholders, such as Ottoman Armenian women writers in this particular paper. To have a better and deeper understanding of cultural and historical roots of women’s rights movements consolidates the construction of a stronger female identity since it will prove where we started and how we proceeded. Consequently, this paper intends that hearing multiple voices raised from the same geographic location, as well as being aware of and informed about different challenges, would be a watershed moment in the history of women, consolidating our steps and enriching our cultural heritage.