Dear List Members, A recent publication on Turkish folklore studies is available at the bookstores now. Please see the following information. Best Regards, Gunil Cebe. To Be a Woman in the Land of Tales: Gender and Space in Folk Tales of Turkey By Evrim Olcer Ozunel [in Turkish] PhD Candidate, Gazi University , Ankara Olcer Ozunel, Evrim. Masal Mekaninda Kadin Olmak: Turkiye Masallarinda Toplumsal Cinsiyet ve Mekan Iliskisi. Ankara : Geleneksel Yayincilik, 2006. ISBN: 9759892723.
In Turkey, folk tales have hitherto been conventionally taken for granted as fictional texts having little or no correspondence to reality. In her book, Evrim Olcer Ozunel begins by questioning this estimation and choosing 32 tales from Turkey, demonstrates that there is a strong relationship between the world of folktales and the real world through scrutinizing gender roles and various usages of space. According to Olcer Ozunel, analyzing tales as social records reveals the existence of a realistic stratum that in return may serve for our contemporary understanding of society. Olcer Ozunel contributes to the conventional classification of space as
private and public by presenting "window" as an "intermediary" space in-between. Interior of the house, the private space, is almost entirely the living space of women; it represents the integrity of the family, and therefore it must be defended. In return, the most important feature of the public space is that it belongs to men. In-between is the window, the intermediary space through which women are exposed to the public space. The exposition of the young virgin to outdoors proceeds in various stages. The virgin first realizes the existence of outdoors through the window; then she explores it by watching, and eventually desires to be a part of it. Leaping over the window into the public space is a step taken toward building a new family.
However, life outdoors is threatening and dangerous for a young virgin who, in order
to survive, must use every means of self-defense to remain "chaste", even if this requires behaving and dressing like a man. When the virgin's adventures outdoors comes to an end by the building of the new family, the social structure justifies itself. Unsuccessful attempts, on the other hand, results in self-destruction which is another way of perpetuating the circular pattern. An innovative perspective with a
strong theoretical basis, Gender and Space in Folk Tales of Turkey is recently one of the most important studies in Turkish folk literature. It will hopefully be a reference book for anyone who is interested in folklore and gender studies. Olcer Ozunel, Evrim. Masal Mekaninda Kadin Olmak: Turkiye Masallarinda Toplumsal Cinsiyet ve Mekan Iliskisi . Ankara: Geleneksel Yayincilik, 2006. 14 x 20 cm., 152 sayfa, Turkce, Karton kapak. ISBN No: 9759892723
Zaman ve mekan olgusundan yoksun oldugu dusunulen masallarin sanilanin aksine her iki golguyla da yakindan iliskisi vardir. 'Kadinlarin sozu' olarak bilinen masal turune toplumsal cinsiyet ve mekan iliskisi acisindan yaklasan bu kitap masal calismalarina farkli bir soluk kazandirmayi hedefliyor. Mekansiz bilinen masallarla ilgili boyle bir kitap ilk basta ayaklari yere basmayan bir calisma olarak gorulebilir. Ne var ki akademik calismalarda aslolan, ayaklarinizin herkesin bastigi yerden farkli bir yere basiyor oldugunu ama, illa ki bir yere bastigini gosterebilmektir. Suphesiz bu calisma masallarla ilgili tum sorulari yanitlamiyor. Ama masal turune bugune kadar bakilan pencerenin restorasyonuyla yakindan ilgileniyor.
Kitabin ele aldigi konu, velilikle delilik arasindaki ince cizgide ustalikla yuruyebilmeyi gerektiriyordu. Bu yuzden, Tolkien'in dedigi gibi 'periler diyarinin tehlikeli bir ulke' oldugu, orada 'ihtiyatsizlar icin tuzaklar ve fazla cesur olanlar icin de zindanlar' bulundugu akilda tutularak hazirlandi.
[sursa e-nass]
