Identity construction in the Zenannâme: Individual voices in the cultural context

Zenannâme, one of the eighteenth-century masnavi, is an original work in terms of its content and the style of its author. The content of Zenannâme is in the form of a depiction of female identity constructions belonging to different ethnic origins. Enderunlu Fâzıl used a unique humorous and local style while constructing these identities. Despite its original content and style, Zenannâme has a traditional subtext. This traditional subtext refers to the production of art created with a patriarchal perspective that marginalizes and subordinates women encountered in different cultures. Women's identities are subtextual updates built on the same foundation in many cultures. Ottoman high-class literature also constitutes a link of these cultures. Women's identities in Ottoman high-class literature came to the fore with their different qualities during the establishment and localization periods of this literature. While the female identity fictions in the works with translation and semi-translation features in the establishment phase are constructed as ideal types in the context of patriarchal art production, there are female identity fictions in literature that stand out with their sexual identities with the localization movement and pose a threat to the patriarchal public sphere. Both of these perspectives are based on the point that marginalizes and subordinates women in the context of patriarchal art production. In Ottoman high-class literature, Zenannâme is included in the second ring of the tradition. As a part of the localization movement in literature, it is an original content constructed as a result of the author's individual searches on a traditional subtext.