A thematic analysis of Engin Geçtan's novels

Engin Geçtan is an important figure who has made significant contributions to Turkish psychiatry. In addition to his academic work related to his profession, he has also produced literary works. This study examines Engin Geçtan's novels Kırmızı Kitap (1993), Dersaadet'te Dans (1995), Bir Günlük Yerim Kaldı İster misiniz? (1997), Kızarmış Palamutun Kokusu (2001), Tren (2004), Kuru Su (2008), and Mesela Saat Onda (2012) from a thematic perspective. The study covers all of Geçtan's fictional works, systematically revealing his literary identity through a thematic approach. In the first section of the thesis, Engin Geçtan's life, personality, and his views on art are analyzed. An attempt is made to understand his outlook on life and his identity as a psychiatrist, which predates his role as a novelist. The study does not employ a summary technique for the novels. Instead, the analysis is supported by excerpts from the texts. While evaluating the novels, common dominant themes within the texts are identified. The author employs postmodern narrative techniques such as metafiction and intertextuality in his novels, yet his content leans toward modernist themes. Themes such as loneliness, alienation, communication breakdown, emptiness and meaninglessness, anxiety, fear, anger, feelings of worthlessness, shame, selfishness, confronting fate, freedom, faith, sin, death, illness, sexuality, marriage, motherlessness, love/affection, betrayal/revenge, jealousy, journeys, dreams, dance, and war are examined from existential and psychoanalytic perspectives. The existential issues in the novels are addressed within the framework of existentialist philosophy, while psychoanalytic traces are evaluated in light of the theories of Sigmund Freud and Carl Gustav Jung, both of whom influenced Engin Geçtan.