Woman in the Novels of Muazzez Aruoba

Abstract

The phenomenon of modernization, which started with the Tanzimat Period, reaches its peak in the Republican Period. Along with modernization, some changes occur on the place of women in society, as in many areas. The writers of the Republican Period, who witnessed these changes, aim to reflect this process in their works. Muazzez Aruoba, a novelist who wrote works between 1934-1974 but whose name is not heard much, is one of the writers who reflects these changes in his works. Aruoba is one of the authors to be consulted when it is desired to evaluate the position of women during the period of modernization in the country. The author, who is involved in organizations advocating women’s rights, reflects her sensitivity to women's rights in her novels, revealing her closeness to the issue. The author, who aims to tell how women should be in his works, tries to achieve this goal, especially through the positive and negative female characters he has included in his novels. In this study, after the women in Muazzez Aruoba’s novels Hasret, Çile, Alev, Beni Kurtar are evaluated according to their personalities, social and psychological states, their positions, preferences and tendencies in the society will be emphasized. The article will start with the introduction, in which brief information is given about the change process of women from the Tanzimat to the Republic, Aruoba’s thoughts on women will be emphasized, and then it will end with an evaluation within the framework of the meanings that she attributes to the female characters in her novels. The aim of the study is to highlight how Muazzez Aruoba, who has witnessed the change of women closely, reflects the search for the ideal woman in her novels and the message she wants to convey with the help of positive/negative female characters in her novels.