Peyami Safa’nın Hikâyelerinde Çingeneler

Abstract

Throughout history, the physical appearance, different lifestyles, languages, occupations, and perspectives on life of the Gypsy community have drawn attention and led to their examination by various disciplines. This interest has also been reflected in literary works. Some Turkish writers have included Gypsies in the field of literature with their lifestyles, occupations, and appearances. While Gypsies are sometimes referred to with negative attributes such as bad, ugly, or unlucky by the societies they belong to and in literary works they appear in, they are also sometimes referred to with positive qualities such as their talents and beauty. For Peyami Safa, who became known in the literary community for his stories, they were important as a stepping stone in his transition from stories to novels. In 1919, Peyami Safa published around thirty stories, unsigned, under the title "Asrın Hikayeleri" (“Stories of the Century”) in the newspaper Yirminci Asır Gazetesi (Twentieth Century Newspaper) which he co-published with his brother İsmail Safa. Some of these stories were also published as newspaper supplements. Most of these stories focused on male-female relationships in terms of their content. In "Asrın Hikayeleri", the author also addressed male-female relationships in his stories "Çingeneler Cazibelidir" (“Gypsies are Charming”) and "Çirkin Aşk" (“Ugly Love”), placing Gypsies at the center of their plot. The aim of this study is to investigate how Gypsies, who have been present in various cultures and societies throughout history, are portrayed in the two works mentioned - "Çingeneler Cazibelidir" and "Çirkin Aşk" - and in what aspects they are addressed.