The Stories in Hanımlara Mahsus Gazete and the İdea of Contemplation

Abstract

Continuing its publication life between 1895-1908 and the longest running women's periodicals in the history of the Turkish press, Hanımlara Mahsus Gazete appears as a tool in which women's voices are announced through the experiences of authorship in the changing social life of the Ottoman society. Adopting the mission of spreading the ideal of “good mother”, “good wife”, “good Muslim” woman, Hanımlara Mahsus Gazete is an important resource for the educated women writers of the period to announce their works and thoughts to other women living in the Ottoman society in particular. It is seen that the periodical reached a wide range of readers with its articles and news published on various subjects ranging from education to family, home administration, raising children, from hygiene to health, from beauty to sewing to embroidery, from entertainment to fashion, from literature to culture and art. The literary activity in the magazine, along with other fields, continued intensively from the first issues. Women writers such as Fatma Aliye, Emine Semiye, Poet Nigar, Makbule Leman, whose names are often heard today, published their first works in this periodical. In this rich literary activity, it was found that the most published genre in the journal were stories. In this article, Hanımlara Mahsus Gazete will be examined in the context of the stories published. After the general characteristics of the stories are given, reading will be made in the journal close to the works of the authors who have at least two stories. Finally, the selected stories will be evaluated in the context of the idea of gaze.