Erken Cumhuriyet Romanında Muhafazakâr Erkek Kimliğinin İnşası: Peyami Safa’nın Romanları Örneğinde

Abstract

Cumhuriyet romanının ilk devresi, estetik gayelerin ötesinde, yeni kurulan ulus devletin ideolojisini yansıtmanın ve biçimlendirmenin yansımalarını barındırır. Bu dönem romanında, Milli Edebiyattan itibaren kendini gösteren ulusçu yaklaşımlar devletin ideolojisi ile birleşir ve kimlik inşasının biçimlendirilmesinde kullanılır. Bahsi geçen kimlikler, ağırlıklı olarak erkek kimlikleridir ve zaten esasen bu nitelikleri ile devlet ideolojisinin parçalarıdır. Milli Mücadele ve Cumhuriyet'in ilk yıllarında kaleme alınan romanların, ulus devlet ve milli kimlik oluşturmada bir araç olarak kullanıldıkları varsayımından ortaya çıkan bu çalışmanın temel amacı, Milli Mücadele yıllarının ve Cumhuriyetin ilk evresinin "aydın-romancı "sının, "ulus-devlet", "ulus-birey", "ulustoplum" inşasındaki rolünü incelemek ve anlatıcı/yazardan karakter ve tiplere uzanan çizgide bu bağlamda kurgulanmış muhafazakâr erkek kimliklerini irdelemektir. Milli kimliğin inşası, bir yandan yeni değerler sistemine göre üretilmiş bir erkek tipini idealize ederken diğer yandan ve baskın şekilde "öz"üne sahip çıkan ve "öteki"leşmeyen bir erkek kimliğini tercih eder. Bu bakımdan muhafazakâr erkek kimlikleri geleneğin ve özün bekçileri sıfatıyla toplumsal, dini ve milli bir sorumluluğun paydaşları olarak romana girerler. İncelemede merkez metinler olarak, bu konuda en keskin ayrımları yapan; kurguladığı erkek kimlikleri ile ideoloji ve muhafazakârlık bağlamındaki incelemelere olanak sağlayan Peyami Safa'nın romanları tercih edilmiştir. İnceleme dönem olarak erken cumhuriyet yıllarını kapsadığından 1940'tan sonra yayımlanan Yalnızız, Biz İnsanlar, Matmazel Noralya'nın Koltuğu gibi romanlar çalışmaya dahil edilmemiştir. Öte yandan amaç Peyami Safa'nın romanlarından hareketle dönemin muhafazakâr erkek kimliğini incelemek olduğundan kronolojik bir kurgu ile romanların incelenmesi yerine çalışmanın amacına uygun şekilde tematik olarak bulguların incelenmesi ve yorumlanması tercih edilmiştir. Yazarın romanlarındaki muhafazakâr erkek kimliklerinin inşasının yanında yazar/anlatıcının muhafazakâr ve eril karakteri de incelemeye dâhil edilmiştir zira bu eril anlatıcı tipi ideolojik temsili içeren yazarın sesini duyurduğu kimliktir. Bu erkek kimliklerinin ideoloji ile bağları siyasi tarihin kronolojisi ile koşut olarak ele alınmış, yazarın romanlarındaki muhafazakâr erkek kimlikleri ve anlatıcının eril bakış açısının bu kimliklerin inşasındaki işlevi Milli Mücadeleden Cumhuriyetin ilanının çeyrek asır sonrasına kadar, ideoloji ile ilişkileri kurularak incelenmiştir. Peyami Safa'nın tercih edilmesinde hem yayımladığı romanların edebi nitelikleri hem de bir ideolog olarak muhafazakâr erkek kimliğini romanlarında biçimlendirdiği ve örneklediği, bu bakımdan devrin hâkim zihniyetinden ayrıldığı, idealize fakat monomitik erkek kimliğinden farklı erkek kimlikleri inşa ettiği kabulleri belirleyici olmuştur

The first period of Republican novel, beyond aesthetic intentions, contains the reflections of young nation state ideology and the reflections of formalization. In this era novel, nationalistic approachment which has shown itself from national literature, unites with state’s ideology and is used in building identity. Aforementioned identities are mainly men identities, fundamentally, with these qualities, have already been parts of state ideology. The main purpose of this research is that supposing by novels, were written in the early years of National Struggle and Republic, used as a tool in which forming nation state and national identity, to analyze the years of National Struggle and the first period of Republic’s role of literated novelists, nation state, nation individual, nation society and building to semtinize identity of conservative men which were fictionalized from the narrator to the character. Building national identity, on one hand, idealizes men identities which were made by new system of value, on the other hand, prefers a man’s identity which was not marginalized and protected his self. In this respect, the identity of conservative men take place in novels as the keepers of custom and self and partners of religious and national responsibilities. In the research, as centre texts, Peyami Safa’s novels were preferred with his certain distinctions about this subject, with his fiction men identities, providing opportunities to the contexts of researches in ideology and conservatism. Because of the fact that research involves in early years of the Republic, like Yalniziz, Biz Insanlar, Matmazel Manolya’nin Koltugu were not included in the research as they were published after 1940. On the other hand, because of the purpose is to analyze the identity of conservative men via Peyami Safa’s novels, instead of analyzing the novels with chronological fiction. It was suitable for he purpose of the research that thematic findings being analyzed and commented. Besides building identity of conservative men in his novels, it was also included in analyzing narrator’s consevative and masculine character because this masculine type of narrator was the identity of the author in which including his own voice. These men identities’ connection with ideology and were taken in paralel with political history chronology, identities of conservative men in his novels and his masculine point of view were searched what were their function of building those identities from the National Struggle to quarter-century of Republic. The reason why Peyami Safa was chosen both his novels’ literaray qualities and the identity of consevative men as an ideologist forming and exemplifying in his novels, therefore, seperating from dominant mentality of that period and were determinative by building different men identities from monolithic man identitiy. As a result, it can be said that the identities of conservative men in Peyami Safa’s novels are not challenging types. They are, as long as they resist against European style and carry on thinking that their women will stil belong to them, at the point of not giving the women of the same world to the other, succesful. Mentioned identities of conservative men in none of the works, do not unite with heroic men who form monomyth of the period, but they always support the ideology of early Republic from its essential points. In consequence, ideal men and women of the conservative masculine imagination do not conflict with dominant ideological statement due to none of their characteristics. Although it seems that there is a difference between in the perception of women and in the way how conservative opinion idealize women with religious references and this idea is very common. Peyami Safa’s identity of conservative is in compliance with Kemalist ideology at the point of positioning women. We can say that there is a fear of colonization of mentality which marked in the early period reformisim of Ottoman-Turk modernization. The feminine imagination of the concept of homeland and state, explains the passion of keeping women with which ideological point that is created with hegemonic masculinity. In this regard, as the attitude of modernization of new new ideology’s nation state imagination as in view not dominate but always well accepted conservative masculine identity, idealize conceptional reality associaye w,th appearance level, modern conservative masculinity and from this identified women. In other words, the monomyth of gallant soldier in Anatolia and founding representation of patriatic masculine identity, accompanying women their representatives and their naive attitudes complete with continuous characters who assume identity roles at the point of protecting capital city cultures from Anatolia. From this aspect, Peyami Safa’s novels in which he exemplifies conservative men and his suggestions to the identity of conservative men and reflecting his novel’s urban identity, can be read as symbolic addition of urbanism which lasting from the first examples of Turkish literature. With his novel techniques, the narrator whom he tittivates as a fictional identity, is always conservative and a man. Even if he is conservative or not, it shows the effect of classical patriarchal view on the whole modernization process. The most important link between conservative men identity and Kemalist ideology is this patriarchal discourse and masculinity which shows itself. Both of the conservative thoughts and national modernization, which searches a traditional self base, cultivate a main patriarchal imagination. The clearest examples of classical patriarchy are found in northern Africa, muslim Middle East, south and east Asia. In this sense, it can be said that classical patriarchy is reproduced and at the stage of this, as the representative of extended family and authority, old man envolves in elementary family, connection with relatives and state connection. In this regard, especially, being represented with the protection of family structure, both masculinity of conservative thought which exemplifies the roles of men and women in family, and Kemalist modernization which organizes and exemplifies women as individuals of a great family, base upon building a new man identity and protecting this essentialist effect. Almost all of his novels in early period of Republic, identity of conservative man which he recreates from the perspective of conservative man is the representative of this structure. At this point, the new role in which Islamism, as a source of nourisher to classical patriarchy, is a cultural former of creating conservative opinion. Also, it states masculine side which conservative masculinity finds missing parts to try to fulfil in modern masculinity. As it seen in the novels that on one hand, classical patriarchy is being tried to protect, on the other hand, the idea of it has to be modernized, the roles of being capitalized in the countryside and new market powers in building Republic which has fed by masculine imagination, also, is suggestive to understand its well accepted multiple necessity. As noted above, both modernization and conservative ideology which create intellectua background of the early period of Republic novel put forward their argument in reaction to colonization. According to Kandiyoti, this reaction is, meaningfully, dual in terms of its sexual and religious ways and these two support each other. After playing with her new identity and role, it is not considered risky to come back her home by masculine view. As far as woman stands in the position in which the view of conservative men put her, is mentioned by good means. At this point, the ficyion of the identity of conservative men in the novel is formed by belonging of the woman whom returns back to neighbourhood as a divine area with her religious and national values. Westernization, modernization and native culture as identified with Islamic vaules, form masculine language of conservative view. Of course, the dominanceof this language in literary works is depended upon all reformist exerts are shaped with the men’s point of view and expressed by reformist men’s identity. Reformist side which takes upon the identity of conservative men, as an inevitable characteristic of that preiod against all cognitive complexity that it caused, both mentality and the narrator who is the voice of that mentality, is the contemporary quality of novels. With the Republic and ideology of Kemalism, real acceleration which has gained in description of the woman’s identity or reproducing become, in a way, the channeler of explaining the necessity of reproducing the conservative masculinity. In conclusion, it is clear to see that modern or conservative, all the discourses are the products of a masculine thought in defining new identities. The key determinant in building the identities of modern and conservative men, is women’s positions in these men’s lives. On the other side, with the woman of conservative view and modern view, over her while redefining men, falling down hierarchial value and autarchy which represent the old, emotional distance takes its place to friendship in this new home harmony. As much as in different custom of conservative view, it depends upon the roles of building new nation in the description of the identities of man and woman.