Gülfem Aşlakcı is currently working on her master’s thesis in the field of Comparative Literature. The topic of her thesis is as follows: This study compares the influences of characters in Peyami Safa’s novel “Dokuzuncu Hariciye Koğuşu” and Joanne Greenberg’s “I Never Promised You a Rose Garden” through a psychoanalytic lens, grounded in the authors’ own life stories. By examining the thoughts, attitudes, and reactions of the characters to the societal conditions they experienced, the study aims to uncover the similarities and differences between them. The findings reveal that despite differences in their economic, social, and cultural contexts, the characters share more commonalities than expected.
Joanne was so impressed that Rose Garden was the basis of a Master’s thesis halfway around the globe that she sent Gülfem copies of In This Sign and Appearances. Gülfem responded:
“I hope this message finds you well. I wanted to express my heartfelt thanks for the books and the beautiful letter you wrote on September 8th—coincidentally, my birthday! Although both the letter and the books only reached me today, on October 7th, it feels like a special connection, knowing you wrote it on such a meaningful day for me. Your kindness and thoughtfulness mean the world to me. As I continue my work on the thesis, I will be more than happy to share the English translation with you once it is presented. I plan to send you the sections that relate to your work, as well as the conclusions I’ve reached. I have also been considering turning this research into a book one day, and your inspiration has been a significant part of that thought process. Thank you again for your invaluable support, and I truly hope we will have the chance to meet in person someday.”
Update: July 15—Congratulations to Gülfem, whose thesis is finished, and she has received her degree. Although her actual dissertation is 197 pages long, an independent article based on her complete thesis was published in Modern Türklük Araştırmaları Dergisi (Journal of Modern Turkish Studies). Here is the website where the article can be accessed by registering: http://mtad.humanity.ankara.edu.tr Ms. Aşlakcı has kindly translated the 19-page article into English for us, and you can view it here. Joanne Greenberg has been very pleased with her friendship with Gülfem, loved the article, and is so happy to see a new generation moving forward with her work.
BitcoDavid
Gülfem Aşlakcı