The heroes in the novelistic romances of Esat Mahmut Karakurt

Esat Mahmut Karakurt (1902-1977) was an influential writer of Turkishliterature in the Republican period, especially with his romance, adventure, and spynarratives that reached a large female audience. After he published his first collection ofshort stories in 1926, Karakurt wrote a total of 16 novels until 1960. His novels, whichwere serialized first in newspapers, helped increase their circulation, and most volumeswere reprinted eight to ten times. All Karakurt narratives were adapted at least once asscreenplays.Because they are not considered ?serious? literature, few analyses of popularromances are available in both Turkish and western literary studies, and the ones thatexist are mostly devoted to women authors and their heroines. Therefore, this thesis aimsboth to revitalize the semi-forgotten novelistic romances of an influential author, and tofill a gap in romance studies by examining a male author?s approach to romance byanalyzing his heroes.The thesis focuses on two of Esat Mahmut Karakurt?s novels, namely AllahaIsmarladık (Goodbye, 1936) and lk ve Son (The First and the Last, 1940), althoughfrequent references are made to the author?s other novels as well. The theoreticalframework of the study is influenced by Tania Modleski?s and Janice Radway?s analysesthat are guided by feminist and psychoanalytic considerations, as well as by John G.Cawelti?s work focusing on the structure of romance.In this three-part thesis, first, the physical, educational, and professionalattributes, the relations of love, and the ideological discourses of the male characters inKarakurt?s novels are analyzed. It is observed that these heroes are often handsomebachelors in their thirties, successful at work, and fond of stylish clothing; their attitudetowards women and love is distant; and they share a nationalistic and conservativeworldview. Then, these common traits are discussed in the context of the genericqualities of romance and what they mean in terms of female readers? fantasies.Key Words: romance, fantasy, male author, female reader.