New historicism and Orhan Pamuk's novel Veba Geceleri

This thesis aims to examine Orhan Pamuk's novel The Plague Nights within the framework of New Historicism theory. In Pamuk's novel, which combines fiction and history, Abdulhamid II and the Ottoman Empire of the 19th century are reimagined through the author's eyes. While narrating a plague epidemic that took place in 1901 on the fictional island of Minger, which was part of the Ottoman Empire, the novel also reveals the political, social, and cultural structure of the period through a multi-layered narrative. New historicism approaches literary texts within their historical contexts and argues that history is not a single linear narrative but a whole of multiple narratives intertwined with power, discourse, and culture. In this context, Pamuk's novel does not treat historical events as objective accounts but as narratives reconstructed through a specific ideological perspective. The novel not only discusses the process of an epidemic but also themes such as nationalism, modernization, center-periphery relations, Westernization, and imperial ideologies. When examined in terms of both intertextuality and historical discourse, the narrator's account, written from the perspective of the 21st century, aligns with the fundamental arguments of new historicism. The historical figures, documents, and discourses behind the fictional characters and events blur the boundaries between history and fiction. Furthermore, the archival documents, letters, and official reports that feature prominently throughout the novel show how history is selectively constructed and how every narrative carries a power orientation. In this context, when Orhan Pamuk's The Plague Nights is evaluated from the perspective of new historicism, it serves as an important example that reveals how the past is reproduced from the present, how history is intertwined with fiction, and how literary texts question historical discourses. Key Words:New Historicism, Orhan Pamuk, Veba Geceleri, Novel.