As the Red Carnation Fades

This is the story of a young female lecturer of Turkish literature who struggles as a woman and a mother to stake out her own claims to life. Following the military coup of 1980, martial law was established in Turkey with the aim of putting an end to the widespread social strife that had arisen as adherents of political movements turned to violence, and universities became hotbeds of protests and dissent. The narrator finds herself caught up in the political upheaval of these times but refuses to compromise her intellectual integrity and dedication to teaching, encouraging her students to think critically and debate. In the anti-Leftist environment of the time, she finds herself driven from her post in Izmir and reappointed to the far-flung Black Sea coast, where she is “exiled” for her supposed Leftist beliefs. As a free-thinking woman caught between her own desires for a life of her own and the expectations of a patriarchal society, she finds herself at odds with her husband and mother-in-law as she struggles to come to terms with herself as a mother, wife, and career woman. Ultimately she must make a choice: conform to the roles expected of her, or take the risk of striking out on her own.

Feyza Hepçilingirler is currently a lecturer at Yildiz Technical University. She has received a number of awards, including the Sait Faik Short Story Award for her collection of short stories Eski Bir Balerin and the Sedat Simavi Literary Award for her book Savrulmalar. She writes for a number of magazines and is a columnist for the newspaper Cumhuriyet.