Shafak’s Treatment of Patriarchy and Marginalization of Women in The Bastard of Istanbul: A feminist critical discourse perspective

Author(s) : Umar Farooq Khan, Hafiz Ahmad Bilal

Abstract:

The study is an investigation to analyse and portray the treatment of females as compared to their male counterparts in the Turkish patriarchal society. By applying the critical framework of Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis (FCDA) as postulate by Lazar (2007, 2005a, 2005b), the study focuses on The Bastard of Istanbul (2006) by ElifShafak to reveal how the themes of marginalization and patriarchy are woven into the text. The exploration is done through the investigation of linguistic choices made by the author to portray characters in her novel and their treatment by male characters and/or society. Passages bearing the themes of marginalization, and patriarchal treatment are purposefully chosen for the analysis. The selected passages are analysed critically, which lead to the revelation of patriarchal practices in Turkish society that shape the identity of a woman who is the "other".