The Women Detectives in the Detective Literature: Esra Türkekul’s Kapaliçarşi Cinayeti Novel Cover Image

Polisiye Edebiyatta Kadin Dedektifler: Esra Türkekul’un Kapaliçarşi Cinayeti Kitabi
The Women Detectives in the Detective Literature: Esra Türkekul’s Kapaliçarşi Cinayeti Novel

Author(s): Selin ÖNEN
Subject(s): Gender Studies, Novel, Turkish Literature, 19th Century
Published by: Uluslararası Kıbrıs Üniversitesi
Keywords: dedective literature; detective; feminism; feminist methodology; gender; middle class;

Summary/Abstract: As Mandel (1996) argues, there appears, in terms of detective character, an attempt to rebuild the rationality by restoring the deflected order in the classic detective novel, which emerged in the 19th. century. The social position of detectives is also related to historical and societal changes. Thus, the emphasis on science and reason concepts are related to the Enlightenment period and positivism. Assessing periodically, the period between the two world wars is named as the Golden Age of the British detective novel. In this period, female writers and detectives were at the forefront of crime fiction in a peaceful and relaxing environment wherein violent elements were not predominant, which was striking. Hard-boiled tradition involving masculine detective characters were widespread in America during the 1920s Golden age period. By the end of the 1970s, the female viewpoint came into prominence in American detective fiction. Detective characters identified apart from societal patriarchal values, women aware of their subjectivity and the incorporation of women comprised of different stratas, which are striking features of this period. This paper argues that the emergence of modern female detective characters is related to the women’s movement and feminist approach. In this framework, this paper will examine Esra Türkekul’s Kapalıçarşı Cinayeti novel in the context of how the amateur female detective character constructs her subjectivity, class position and her interaction with herself and with other people.

  • Issue Year: 24/2018
  • Issue No: 93
  • Page Range: 139-150
  • Page Count: 12
  • Language: Turkish