Ahmet Mithat Efendi’nin Cellât romanı ve erken modern Avrupa'da şiddet (1500-1800)

Abstract

Ahmet Mithat Efendi, Türk edebiyatında roman sanatının öncü isimlerindendir. Şemsettin Sami ve Namık Kemal’in araladığı bu yeni türün kapısından giren Ahmet Mithat Efendi, otuzun üzerinde roman yazarak Türk romancılığının en üretken sanatçıları arasına girmeyi başarmıştır. Fazla sayıdaki romanından ötürü kendisine “ticari kaygı” yakıştırması yapılsa da esasında o, devrin meselelerine çözüm üretme amacıyla sanatını bir araç olarak kullanmıştır. Romanlarında hokkabazlık hikâyelerinden ajanlık faaliyetlerine kadar birçok önemli konu vardır. Ayrıca gazeteci olduğu için sanatında Osmanlı ülkesinin sorunları üzerine eğildiği kadar Orta Doğu, Afrika, Amerika ve Avrupa’nın meseleleri ve tarihiyle de ilgilenmiştir. Avrupa tarihinin iç içe olduğu şiddet, bu dönemde Ahmet Mithat Efendi’nin dikkatini çekmiş, Cellât adlı romanıyla kurgusal bir ortamda bunu okurun beğenisine sunmak istemiştir. Cellât, şiddetin temsilinin amaçlandığı ilk Türk romanıdır ve romanda Türk okuru için vaka akışı dikkatle gözetilmiştir. Romanda bulunan kimi sahneler, modern izleyicinin görmeye dayanamayacağı türden infaz, işkence ve şiddet sahneleri içermektedir. Tarihsel gerçeklikleri romanına yansıtmaktan hoşlanan Ahmet Mithat Efendi, Cellât’ta bir cellâdın ve oğlunun şiddet içinde geçen hayatını Avrupa tarihiyle koşut tutarak anlatır. Napolyon’un Elbe adasındaki sürgünden dönüp Waterloo Savaşı’na sonuna kadar süren yüz günlük iktidarı zamanında geçen olaylar, büyük bir romancı dehasıyla kurgusal ortamda anlatılmaktadır. Çalışmamızda, Cellât romanındaki kurgusal ortam göz önünde tutularak erken modern Avrupa’da (1500-1800) şiddet ele alınacaktır

Ahmet Mithat Efendi carries the affairs of his era to his art with over thirty novels. Apart from being a journalist, just as he is interested in the problems of Ottoman Empire, he is also interested in the problems and histories of Middle East, Africa, America and Europe. From beginning of Medievel European history to recent years violence and crime have lived between public and power. This is a contoversial point of wiev between subject and object. Ahmet Mithat Efendi cared about Europe’s crime and violence history and reflected in his novels. The violence that European history had attracts the attention of Ahmet Mithat Efendi, with his novel called Cellât (Hangman), he presents that to the readers’ taste in a fictive world. Cellât is the first Turkish novel that there presentation of violence is aimed. Ahmet Mithat Efendi who likes to reflect the historical facts to his novel tells the lives of an executioner and his son that pass in violence by keeping parallel with European history in the novel. The events that passes from the Napoleon’s return from the exile in Elbe Island to Waterloo War, which coversone hundred days of authority of him, are handled with a novelist genius in a fictive ambience. In our work, the violence in early modern Europe will be handled by considering the fictive ambience of Cellât. Determining violence as a subject in Turkish literature is a condition first time witnessed. Ahmet Mithat Efendi who uses new themes, characters and places in his novels submits a new novel type to Turkish society with Cellât: Violence novel. Violence scenes in Cellât are so widespread that a modern reader feels himself as if he watches a movie of David Lynch or Quentin Tarantino. Key issue in the novel could be summarized like this: Before we deal with our work, we think that it is useful to make a short summary of the novel. The novel’s place is Paris. Leandre Garas is a journalist who studied law and he is one of the characters whom Ahmet Mithat Efendi likes handling. Simon Garas is his father and works as an executioner. He has worked as an executioner for thirty years. Pol Tonak works as a military contractor which is peculiar to medieval and he is given Légion D’honneur by Napoleon. Pol Tonak lives with his wife and his daughter Stefani. Leandre Garas meets Stefani. He hides his real identity by using a nickname called Andre Gocafo. Leandre saves Stefani and her mother Eyena from molestation of a person called Leon in Eyena Bridge. He hides his real identity because of his father’s job. A society does not accept a person in itself who terminates others life. While Simon is introduced in the novel, plenty of violence is presented at the same time. Leandre Gocafo can not respond Stefani’s love due to his real identity. On the other hand, Stefani’s mother and father who think modernly want to get their daughter to marry with Andre Gocafo. Also, Napoleon wants Pol Tonak’s daughter to marry with that young man since Pol Tonak is one of the close friends of Napoleon. However, Leandre Garas disappears. He rescues a man called Piyer Tolkaş who is sentenced to death by Simon Pankar’s intrigues with the help of an article written by him to a journal and a small piece of work. Simon Pankar is a man who seized all property of Pol Tonak before. Leandre confesses his real identity. Nevertheless, she doesn’t give up her love. Simon Pankar wants to have Stefani with the help of his intrigues. Simon Pankar persuades Leon and his friends to a murder not to become this marriage real. Leandre is shooted with a gun but he rescues from death. Simon Pankar is killed with a severe torture by Simon Garas because of this assassination. Leandre marries with Stefani. Napoleon is exiled to St. Helene isle after Waterloo War and Simon Garas is executed. Ahmet Mithat Efendi who knows European history and press through books he has read and culture and friendship relation he has become familiar in the period that he has not still seen Europe and who reflects that to his novels makes archeology of violence in early modern Europe in Cellât novel. Ahmet Mithat Efendi who makes the event of novel take place in Paris comes together with the freedom of telling the violence with all its details. It is the first novel in Turkish literature where the violence has constituted the main subject and representations are extremely realistic. The violence culture in Europe makes its peak in the world of Middle Ages and has lived until today in some way. Today, the object of violence has changed only. However, the subject of the violence has always remained same. Legal articles in Europe like ‘Edict of Fontainebleau’ mention that famous bandit, thieve, serial killer, smuggler figures always exist and legitimate the execution to be open to the public and implemented with torture. Ahmet Mithat Efendi introduces the representation of violence to the Ottoman society by the novel utilizing these kind of historical facts.‘Canards’ that appear with the establishment of journalism and publication in European press has been the source of inspiration of the novel that we examine. Therefore, Cellât is the first Turkish novel that the representation of the violence aimed in itself. In this point of view, it could be stated easily that this novel has a leading identity.