Tip of the Knife: A Study on the Problematiqué of Revolution, Coup and Gender

Abstract

Atilla Ilhan is one of the most important authors of the Turkish Literature in the Republican Period and his novel Tip of the Knife, published in 1973, is the first novel of the seven-book Inside the Mirror series, which tell Turkey in the period covering between years 1909-1960. In his novel Tip of the Knife, Ilhan presented the political and social events and situations Turkey had experienced in the period from January to May 1960, observing from the point of view of the intelligentsia in Turkey. In this novel, the spirit of the time during the military coup that took place on May 27, 1960 is expounded through the main characters of the novel, Suat and Halim. In general terms, researchers have not made a clear assessment of whether the novel is for or against May 27. Moreover, his views on the revolution, coup and gender issues are often conveyed as they are without being evaluated by the researchers or these issues are briefly mentioned. This article has been written in order to critically scrutinize the issues of “revolution”, “coup” and “gender” in Attila Ilhan’s novel Tip of the Knife, considering the facts and conditions of the author’s own period.

Cumhuriyet Dönemi Türk Edebiyatinin en önemli isimlerinden biri olan Attila Ilhan’in 1973 yilinda yayimlanan Biçagin Ucu adli romani, 1909-1960 yillari Türkiye’sinin anlatildigi yedi kitaplik Aynanin Içindekiler serisinin ilk romanidir. Ilhan, Biçagin Ucu adli romaninda, 1960 yilinin Ocak -Mayis aylarini kapsayan bir dönemde Türkiye’nin içinde bulundugu siyasi ve sosyal durumlari Türkiye’deki aydin kesimin bakis açisindan serimlemistir. Söz konusu romanda 27 Mayis 1960 askeri darbe dönemindeki zamanin ruhu, romanin baskarakterleri olan Suat ve Halim üzerinden açimlanmistir. Genel anlamda arastirmacilar Biçagin Ucu adli romani 27 Mayisi konu edinen bir roman baglaminda ele almislardir. Ancak, romanin 27 Mayis yanlisi mi yoksa karsiti mi oldugu konusunda net bir degerlendirme yapmamislardir. Ayrica, Ilhan’in romanlari üzerine yapilan çalismalarda onun devrim, darbe ve toplumsal cinsiyet konularina yönelik görüsleri arastirmacilar tarafindan bir degerlendirmeye tabi tutulmadan çogu kez oldugu gibi aktarilmis ya da bu konulara kisaca deginilmistir. Bu kapsamda makale, Attila Ilhan’in Biçagin Ucu adli romaninda geçen “devrim”, “darbe” ve “toplumsal cinsiyet” konularinin kendi döneminin kosullari göz önünde bulundurularak elestirel bir sekilde çözümlenmesi amaciyla kaleme alinmistir.