Conspicuous consumption in Tanzimat period novels on the axis of Ottoman westernization

Consumption, as an existential necessity, is an ordinary act of all living life. When it comes to the human factor that performs the act of consumption, this concept starts to get complicated. Thorstein Bunde Veblen, an American sociologist and economist, discussed the concept of consumption through social relations in his work called "The Theory of The Leisure Class". According to Veblen, people choose to consume expensive products and services to gain prestige, status and to be emulated by the environment. Veblen calls this consumption "Conspicuous Consumption". The concept of conspicuous consumption has been the source of consumption theories of many different theorists. In this study, the conspicuous consumption elements in the novels of "Araba Sevdası", "Felâtun Bey ile Râkım Efendi", "Karnaval" and "Zehra" which present us a portrait of communal living written by the intellectuals of Tanzimat period has been examined. In the research for this examination, the novels have been discussed through the hermeneutic paradigm and data were collected by document analysis method in accordance with the qualitative research design. As a result, it has been seen that there are many different elements for conspicuous consumption, and these are interpreted under separate headings. As a result of the study, many conspicuous consumption elements were encountered in the novels of the Tanzimat period, which are a reflection of the Ottoman social life. It has been determined that the consumption style in the novels bears strong similarities with conspicuous consumption. Although conspicuous consumption is transferred to us through the main characters, other characters in the novels also spend conspicuous consumption. All of the novels have been examined through the headings of car, houses, fashion and clothes, leisure activities, servants and representative vagrants, brand and jewelry, wealth and heritage which are all common conspicuous consumption practices.