Abstract:

In the XIX Century, the slow decline of the Ottoman State, losing its former glory, moving away from its military power and facing many political and administrative problems paved the way for the European states to increasingly interfere in the domestic matters of the Ottoman state particularly through the life of non-Muslim elements within the Ottoman borders and thus to awaken their national feelings against the state. In order to secure its territorial integrity against nationalist movements, to integrate non-Muslims and non-Turks more thoroughly into Ottoman society and to prevent the European powers from interfering in its domestic issues, the Sultan introduced The Tanzimat Reforms in 1839. In this context, by getting rid of the Millet system and second class citizienship, non-Muslims were granted more civil liberties and rights that were equal to the majority. This article examines the way in which the prominent writer of the period Nabizade Nazım deals with non-Muslim characters in terms of ethical, family and sexuality aspects and how he positions them in his 1891 novel Karabibik,which is acknowledged as the first willage novel in Turkish Literature.

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