History Between Memory and Amnesia in Elif Shafak’s The Bastard of Istanbul (2006)

Abstract

Memory is among the manifold topicalities that characterize fiction texts and mark them as a vital medium of human expression. Numerous texts adopt the theme of memory as an object of explicit reflection as they often touch upon the manner in which individuals and groups remember, and at times, forget their pasts. One of these texts is the Bastard of Istanbul (2006) by the British Turkish writer Elif Shafak, which grounded itself in a fictive representation of the processes and the outcomes of social remembering and forgetting in two particular societies: the Turkish and the Armenian. The present research aims at exploring and expounding the representation of the Turkish and the Armenian social memory as well as Shafak’s critiques and comments concerning the diametrically opposite situations of memory in the two societies. In this respect, three major questions were raised: First, how did Shafak portray the Turkish/ Armenian social memory in the novel? Second, what makes social memory of injustice important to the Armenian characters of the novel? And last, what future did the writer predict for the Turkish society in light of its social amnesia? To answer the research questions, the researcher undertook a detailed sociological inquiry on the topic of social memory, as well as an elaborate investigation of the etiology behind the current memory situation in the concerned societies. This material was, then, used to scrutinize the novel and make sense of the content relevant to the research. The analysis of the novel brought to light three main findings: First, the Armenian characters of the novel value and treasure their social memory, whereas the Turks are amnesiac and negligent of theirs. Second, the social memory of injustice is important to the Armenian characters, especially those living in the diaspora, as it provides them with an emotional bond that promotes their social cohesion and deepens their sense of belonging to their home nation. Finally, the state of social amnesia that pervades among the Turks could have tragic ramifications on the country.