Female characters in the novels of the Gallipoli War

Novels are understood as being a literary form that depicts the inner worlds of people within a defined fiction using various elements. The novel offers the writer the opportunity to express her/his self through words and through the characters that she/he creates. Novels furthermore are subdivided into genres according to the elements of their contents (i.e. intent)—one of which is the historical novel. This study takes an in depth look the role(s) of women in contemporary Turkish historical novels themed around the Battle of Gallipoli, drawing from the works of authors such as Mustafa Necati Sepetçioğlu, Mehmed Niyazi, Sezen Özol, Rahmi Özen, Buket Uzuner, Sevinç Koçak, Salim Koçak, Halide Alptekin, İsmail Bilgin and Mehmet Kaplan. It examines the position of women living in the midst of war, as well as where within society they are situated. Moreover, it attempts to identify the relationship(s) between women and other people, as well as the roles of women within the conflict itself as well as behind the trenches, their sacrifices, and the attributes that they carry beyond their just being female. This detailed inspection of female characters from the aforementioned angles is supported by direct quotes extracted from an array of novels. This thesis surveys the characteristics of female characters featured the works of the aforesaid novelists, including: Ve Çanakkale (Geldiler, Gördüler, Döndüler), Çanakkale Mahşeri, Çanakkale Askerine Rütbe Gerekmez, Zulüm Dağları Aşar Çanakkale İçinde, Uzun Beyaz Bulut Gelibolu, Şafakta Yanan Mumlar, Çanakkale'de Çocuklar da Savaştı, Bir Çanakkale Destanı Şehadetname, Çanakkale'ye Gidenler and Dönmeyi Düşünmediler. Keywords: Battle of Gallipoli, World War One, historical novel, war and women, novel and Battle of Gallipoli.