Resisting women of Fatma Aliye, the first female novelist of turkish litareture

Fatma Aliye Hanım, born in 1862 in Istanbul, was the first female novelist of Turkish Literature. She was the daughter of Ahmet Cevdet Pasha, an important statesman who had worked as a historian and lawyer in the Ottoman Empire. Fatma Aliye Hanım had been interested in education from an early age and was sensitive to and aware of social problems. These included issues such as education of women, women's rights and gender inequality, which she emphasized in her novels. Aiming to reverse the roles of men and women in the traditional sense, she tried to bring women to the forefront by keeping them in the center in her novels. On the contrary to traditional patriarchal understanding, she defended equality between men and women. The first part of this thesis is about historical and sociological examination of the Ottoman period, which Fatma Aliye Hanım lived in. The second part is a detailed examination of the liberal feminist theory that occured first within feminist theories. The final part refers to the life and works of Fatma Aliye Hanım as well as her works which are Refet, Udi and Enin chronogically emphasize on Fatma Aliye Hanım's appraisal on the position of women in education, work, distinction of private-public sphere, family-marriage and law are interpreted in the light of liberal feminist theory. Key Words: Ottoman Period, Fatma Aliye Hanım, gender equality, liberal feminist theory, family, society