Turkish Novel in the Republican Era an 'object' Oriented Approach to Consumption Culture

Abstract

When the history of humanity is analysed, it is seen that human beings have always been in the act of consuming in order to sustain their existence. At first, human beings consumed for their needs and in line with their needs with a focus on 'utility', but over time, especially after the Industrial Revolution, as if hypnotised, consumption itself became a need. While this process gave birth to capitalism, in this process, human beings became orientated towards objects not for their functions and benefits, but for purposes such as providing/reflecting status through them and not missing out on fashion. The aforementioned global process is also present in the Ottoman Empire/Turkey from the 1900s onwards in parallel with the world and by increasing its impact over the years. Looking at the literary work which always embodies the sociological reality and more specifically the Turkish novel, the subject of tendency to consumption draws attention in the Servet-i Fünûn period, specifically in Halit Ziya's works. In parallel with the functioning of consumption in society, the number of novels in which consumption culture is exemplified increases in the Turkish literature of the Republican period. In addition to the increase in number, the treatment of the subject becomes deeper and more multidimensional. In this study, which deals with the treatment of the culture of consumption in the Turkish novel of the Republican period -in order to limit the date range and to examine a specific period-, approximately forty novels that are commonly accepted to be modernist were scanned and an exemplification was reached through fourteen novels in which traces of the culture of consumption were found. Mahur Beste, Sokaktaki Adam, Tutunamayanlar, Tehlikeli Oyunlar, Tuhaf Bir Kadın, Karanlığın Günü, Ölmeye Yatmak, Fikrimin İnce Gülü, Destan Gönüller, Ölüm İlişkileri, Sessiz Ev, Bay Muannit Sahtegi’nin Notları, Kumru ile Kumru and Kusma Kulübü novels are analysed with the examples they present in terms of consumption culture; in this context, it is concluded that objects play a role in constructing one’s self-perception by being highlighted in terms of brand, price and place of purchase; and that the subject is not the master but he slave of objects in the consumer society. © 2025 Hacettepe University. All rights reserved.