A Study of the Sinekli Bakkal Novel in the Context of the Novel of Female Formation

Abstract

The female bildungsroman is a genre that has been shaped in relation to the formation novel (bildungsroman).  The Formation novel (bildungsroman) emerged in 18 th century German literature. It is accepted that literary and historical research on the genre began with Wilhelm Dilthey. Goethe’s work, Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship Memoirs, which was written in 18 th century German literature, is considered the first example of this genre. The subject of the formation novel (bildungsroman), examples of which can be found in German literatüre, Turkişh literatüre, English, French and other world literatures, includes the maturation process of an individual within society, depending on life conditions. In this context, the first examples of the bildungsroman genre were examined through male individuals in relation to the masculine social structure.The fact that individuals costituting the social structure have to gender identities, male and female, and different social roles and statuses has led to differentiation of maturation and formation processes. The events situations, changes, transformations that occur within the social structure and the factors that arise depending on these factors have had different effects on male an female individuals. In this context,the examination of gender identities in the 18 th and 19 th centuries necessitated confronting the question of what constitutes female development (Ellis, 1999: 21). Fraiman also stated that the formation processes of female individuals follow a different path than male individuals. He classified the works written within the scope of the formation novel (bildungsroman) as “female text” and “male text” and emphasized that it would be a more accurate method to examine these works depending on the gender identity of the main characters (Fraiman, 1993: 12). As a result of the evaluations of many researchers who have studied the formation novel (bildungsroman), it has been found more accurate to examine the formation proccesses of female characters under the title of female formation novel (female bildungsroman). Accordingly, the female bildungsroman genre emerged, and the formation and maturation processes of female characters depending on their gender roles and social status were examined. Some researchers have stated that this genre emerged in the 19 th century as a result of feminist literary theory. Felski has associated feminist literary theory with woman, texts, and the ideological structures they affect as social subjects. She has stated that these texts are related to historical, political and cultural structures. She has defined feminist literary theory as “a way of producing meaning, a construction of gender identity that utulizes intersubjective cultural and ideological frameworks rather than a more or less accurate representation of a given female reality without  any problems” (Felski, 1989: 8, 9) It has been determined that there are many examples of the female bildungsroman, which is also associated with the structures emphasized by Felski, in Turkish literature. As a result of the research and the inferences obtained, it has been determined that the novel Sinekli Bakkal falls within the scope of the female formation novel. Rabia’s female formation process has been examined in the context of historical, political, cultural, and Social factors experienced in society.