OSMANLI TOPLUMUNUN BATILILAŞMASINDA GÖÇÜN ETKİSİ VE TAAFFÜF

Abstract

Ahmet Mithat Efendi’s Taaffüf (1895) is an important novel that recites the effects of migration onthe Ottoman society. The typical roots of westernization that appear in early Tanzimat novels areinadequate for explaining Taaffüf since, at the time this novel is published, the Ottoman society hasexperienced a major transformation as a result of the mass migrations from Crimea, Caucasus andBalkans. As the migrants were more open to westernization in their daily lives, their incorporationto the Ottoman society has increased the speed and scope of westernization. In his early novels, theauthor used to bring together and compare an overly westernized “bey” character and a correctlywesternized “efendi” character. But, in Taaffüf, only a “bey” character appears, and in contradistinctionto earlier novels, he is described positively. Additionally, in this novel, which is mainly about infidelity, the westernized woman character is also described positively, in contrast to the earlier novels of the author. The novel also describes the main characters as migrants and in this way migration is described as a new type of source that drives westernization. This novel shows that the author is aware of the fact that the lives of the upper classes of Ottoman society has changed significantly as a result of migration