Orhan Pamuk Anlatılarındaki Yeme İçme Sahneleri Bağlamında, İstanbul Burjuvazisi Ne Yer, Nerede Yer, Nasıl Yer, Neyi Temsil Eder?

Abstract

This article examines how Orhan Pamuk addresses the food scenes where the Istanbul bourgeoisie are staged in his narratives and what these scenes represent in terms of Turkish modernization. The article begins with a discussion of the difficulties in defining the bourgeoisie and the polysemic structure of the concept. Next the article discusses the central position of everydayness in modern literature and how the eating scenes can be considered as ‘fillers’ in this context as defined by Moretti. Later on, this article analyzes Orhan Pamuk’s novels, especially Masumiyet Müzesi [Museum of Innocence], Sessiz Ev [House of Silence], and Cevdet Bey ve Oğulları [Cevdet Bey and His Sons] as well as his autobiographic narratives such as İstanbul: Hatıralar ve Şehir [Istanbul: Memories and the City] and Manzaradan Parçalar [Fragments of the Landscape] through a deep reading on the axis of food scenes. The article examines the actual content of these scenes as well as the various meanings that have been constructed around them with regard to class, gender, modernity, and tradition. As a result of this investigation, the eating habits of the bourgeoisie in Orhan Pamuk’s narratives can primarily be said to have a close relationship with the historically and socially constructed set of meanings. However, these narratives at the same time also emphasize food and eating to have universal and timeless meanings beyond the historical and social contexts.