THE WOMEN DETECTIVES IN THE DETECTIVE LITERATURE: ESRA TÜRKEKUL’S KAPALIÇARŞI CİNAYETİ NOVEL /POLİSİYE EDEBİYATTA KADIN DEDEKTİFLER: ESRA TÜRKEKUL’UN KAPALIÇARŞI CİNAYETİ KİTABI

• Main Author: Selin Önen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cyprus International University 2018-02-01
• Series: Folklor/Edebiyat
• Subjects: deective literature; detective; feminism; feminist methodology
• Online Access: http://www.folkloredebiyat.org/Makaleler/946481013_fe%2010.pdf
• ISSN: 1300-7491; 1300-7491

As Mandel (1996) argues, there appears, in terms of detective character, an attempt to rebuild the rationality by restoring the deflected order in the classic detective novel, which emerged in the 19th. century. The social position of detectives is also related to historical and societal changes. Thus, the emphasis on science and reason concepts are related to the Enlightenment period and positivism. Assessing periodically, the period between the two world wars is named as the Golden Age of the British detective novel. In this period, female writers and detectives were at the forefront of crime fiction in a peaceful and relaxing environment wherein violent elements were not predominant, which was striking. Hard-boiled tradition involving masculine detective characters were widespread in America during the 1920s Golden age period. By the end of the 1970s, the female viewpoint came into prominence in American detective fiction. Detective characters identified apart from societal patriarchal values, women aware of their subjectivity and the incorporation of women comprised of different stratas, which are striking features of this period. This paper argues that the emergence of modern female detective characters is related to the women’s movement and feminist approach. In this framework, this paper will examine Esra Türkekul’s Kapalıçarşı Cinayeti novel in the context of how the amateur female detective character constructs her subjectivity, class position and her interaction with herself and with other people.