The Ottoman Myth in Turkish Literature

Abstract

This chapter discusses the genesis of the “Ottoman Myth” in Turkish literature, focusing on a broad variety of retrospective narratives that are tied together by (post-)imperial melancholy. As a defining feature of the Ottoman Myth, this melancholy results from the experience of losing a political, cultural and symbolic order that is retrospectively and literarily remembered or imagined as Ottoman lifeworlds. “Empire”, or what is evoked as such, functions as a prism through which authors outline what is perceived as the ills of today, such as modernity, westernisation or nationalism. Melancholy is intrinsically connected to literary discussions about Turkish identity between East and West and links to broader questions about modernisation and progress. Through the analysis of literary texts written by Ahmet Midhat, Recaizade Mahmut Ekrem, Peyami Safa, Halide Edib Adıvar, Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar, Orhan Pamuk, Elif Shafak and Sema Kaygusuz this chapter explores how the Ottoman Myth has evolved throughout the history of late Ottoman and (post)modern Turkish literature.KeywordsOttoman Mythpost-imperial narrativesmelancholyOrhan PamukSema KaygusuzAhmet Hamdi TanpınarTurkish literatureHabsburg MythNostalgiaOttomanismNeo-Ottomanism