The place and importance of Maryânâ Marrâş in modern Arabic literature

Maryânâ Marrâş, is one of the pioneers of Arab reformists in the modern period. Especially, in particular, the years 1848/1919, when she lived, ıt coincided with essential events for our common heritage, the Ottoman Empire. Maryâna was influenced by the literary salons she saw during her travels in Europe, and when she returned to Aleppo, she established a literary salon in her home and revived the tradition of the literary salon in the Middle East. Thus, she revived a tradition that existed in the classical period but was lost in time. She wanted the society to develop in the domains of culture, education, science and art. Maryânâ, who wrote articles in newspapers and magazines, made an important contribution to Arabic literature with her works. Maryânâ's being the first Arab woman to write in a newspaper makes her special. Maryâna's family members are also people who contributed to the Aleppo enlightenment movement. Her father tried to pacify sect strife with his work, and her brother Fransîs Marrâş supported the enlightenment movements with his writings. Maryânâ, who had the opportunity of education, which many women in her time could not have, defended the rights of women with her works and said that they should receive education. Her acquaintance with Western culture was important in shaping her life. She was the first female poet in Aleppo and had a divan of poems published in Beirut under the name Bint Fikr. Maryânâ, who praised some statesmen in her poems, wrote a poem to Sultan II. Abdulhamit, which facilitated the permission to publish her divan. We see that she was influenced by the Jahiliyya poet Hansa in her elegy style poems. Her most important elegy is the elegy she wrote for her brother Fransis Marrâs, which is considered one of the masterpieces of its genre. Maryânâ Marrâs, like other Aleppo women of her time, memorised and was influenced by the poetry of in İbnu'l-Farid'in (ö.1181) (d.1181) and the ghazal poet Ömer b. Ebû Rebia (ö. 711-712). She was also interested in French romantic poetry. We see a didactic and lyrical style in Maryân's works. The main theme of her works is her calls for women. Maryânâ criticised the wrongs she saw in her own time and her ideas spread beyond the borders of Aleppo and spread to other Arab cities. Since Maryâna Marrs came from a family of Christian origin and was herself a Christian, the issues we focus on in our study are mostly related to the Christian minority in Aleppo, the majority of whose people were Muslims at that time. Keywords: Modern Arabic Literature, Aleppo, Maryânâ Mârrâş, Literature Halls.