Interacting, sharing and bonding: ‘notes of personal experience’ by nineteenth-century women travellers

Abstract

As early as the seventeenth century, women have been going from one corner of the world to the other recording their experiences and reasons for publishing. Exploring, working and residing in regions of the East considered ‘safe for dynamic men only’ (Smith 1887, Through Cyprus, Author of ‘Glimpses of Greek life and Scenery, etc’. London: Hurst and Blacket), western women interacted with the peoples of Ottoman society, enjoying their warm and generous hospitality. Their gender allowed them to study, learn and become experts in areas where men had no access: the Ottoman harems, women's daily life, social gatherings and celebrations. Western and eastern women discuss harem slavery, marriage, adultery, childbirth, abortion, divorce, religion and women's rights. In reconsulting primary sources and focusing on the writings of nineteenth-century British women in Asia Minor (Turkey), this article contributes additional evidence on women's alternative representations or less degrading gaze, while revealing a patriarchal system's domestic-social reality that was founded on the institution of slavery. In other words, it differs from other studies in spotlighting the accounts that are illustrative of the polyethnic synthesis of the Ottoman households, i.e. the discourse on the multiethnic harem slavery institution, which distinguished Ottoman society, so as to provide a bigger picture and inspire new discussions.

Interactuar, compartir y crear lazos: “notas de experiencia personal” por mujeres viajeras del siglo XIX

Ya en el siglo XVII, las mujeres han estado yendo de una esquina del mundo a otra registrando sus experiencias y razones para la publicación. Explorando, trabajando y residiendo en regiones del Este consideradas “seguras sólo para hombres dinámicos” (Smith 1887), mujeres occidentales interactuaron con los pueblos de la sociedad otomana y disfrutaron su cálida y generosa hospitalidad. Su género les permitió estudiar, aprender y volverse expertas en áreas donde los hombres no tenían acceso: los harenes otomanos, la vida cotidiana de las mujeres, las reuniones sociales y las celebraciones. Las mujeres occidentales y orientales discuten sobre la esclavitud del harén, el matrimonio, el adulterio, el dar a luz, el aborto, el divorcio, la religión y los derechos de las mujeres. Al re-consultar las fuentes primarias y centrándose en las escrituras de mujeres británicas del siglo XIX en Asia Menor (Turquía), este trabajo brinda evidencia adicional sobre las representaciones alternativas de las mujeres o una mirada menos degradante, a la vez revelando la realidad de un sistema patriarcal doméstico social que fue fundado sobre la institución de la esclavitud. En otras palabras, difiere de otros estudios en que centra su atención sobre los relatos que son ilustrativos de la síntesis poliétnica de los hogares otomanos, esto es, el discurso de la institución de la esclavitud multiétnica del harén, la cual distinguía a la sociedad otomana, de forma de proveer una visión más amplia e inspirar nuevas discusiones.

互动、分享与亲密连结；十九世纪女性旅行者的“个人经验纪事”

早在十七世纪，女性便从世界的一隅移动到他方，纪录着她们的经验与目的以进行出版。西方女性探索、工作并居住于被认为“仅对强而有力的男性而言是安全”的东方（Smith 1887），与奥斯曼社会中的人们互动，并享受着当地人所提供的温暖与殷勤好客。她们的性别，使其得以学习、研究并成为男性无法取得管道之处的专家：奥斯曼的妻妾、女性的日常生活、社交集会与庆典。西方与东方女性一同讨论妻奴制度、婚姻、通姦、生产、堕胎、离婚、信仰与女性权益。本文重新查阅主要资料，并聚焦十九世纪身处小亚细亚（土耳其）的英国女性书写，对女性的另类再现或较不带有贬抑的凝视，提供额外的证据，并同时揭露立基于奴隶制度上的父权体制的家户—社会现实。换句话说，本研究与其他凸显奥斯曼家户作为多元族裔综合体——例如多元族裔妻奴制度——并以此识别奥斯曼社会的解释有所不同，藉此提供更广泛的图像，并刺激新的讨论。

Keywords:

• gender
• Osmanli society
• Ottoman Empire
• multiethnic harem slavery
• women

Palabras claves::

• género
• sociedad otomana
• Imperio Otomano
• esclavitud multiétnica del harén
• mujeres

关键词::

• 性别
• 奥斯曼社会
• 奥斯曼帝国
• 多元族裔妻妾奴隶
• 女性

Acknowledgments

I would like to extend my sincerest appreciation to the staff of the Gennadius Library in Athens and the staff of the Boston Public Library, especially Andreas Sideris and Roberta Zonghi, respectively, for their assistance in the collection of the primary sources. I am particularly grateful to my blind reviewers for their constructive comments, and in particular for being so strict with me, demanding major revisions that in the long run improved my article. I wholeheartedly enjoyed the challenge. I am particularly grateful to Jenny Lloyd of Newcastle University and Editor Dr Pamela Moss for not allowing me to give up, namely for their encouragement and patience without which I would never have begun the revisions. This experience showed me that if you stick it out and make an honest effort to consider the reviewers' observations it pays off in the end. A special thanks to my colleagues and friends Nancy Pascall, Diane Nichols and Chris Laz for their continuous proofreading and to Jenny Lloyd for editing and formatting the final version of this article. I would like to use this opportunity to express my gratitude to my mentors, without whom I would have never embarked on this journey: Professor of Philosophy George Farandos and the late Neoklis Sarris, Professor of Sociology and expert in Greek–Turkish relations. Finally, special recognition goes out to my daughters, Joanna and Theodora, who have always been my inspiration.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

^1. For six centuries the multiethnic and multilingual Ottoman Empire – with Constantinople as its capital since 1453 as the centre of interactions between the Western and Eastern worlds – controlled vast lands in the Mediterranean region. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, it controlled much of Southeast Europe, Western Asia, the Caucasus, the Horn of Africa, North Africa and so forth (Peirce 1993; Kamberidou 2002; Sarris, n.d.).

^2. In European historiography, the meaning of ‘the Orient’, originally referring to Egypt and the Levant, has changed in scope several times the Orient included a vast region with a multitude of social structures, cultures and countries (Middle East, Asia, etc.), especially during the Ottoman Empire when it included the Mediterranean region as well (Sarris, n.d.).

^3. Men's apartment or the portion of the house reserved for the men (Sarris, n.d.).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Irene Kamberidou

Dr Irene Kamberidou is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Athens. Her research interests include gender equality issues, women in science and technology, Ottoman society, multiculturalism, peace education, and the role of sport in promoting bridges to understanding. Dr Kamberidou is a member of the Executive Group of the European Centre for Women and Technology (ECWT) and Chief-Editor of ECWT e-News. She is an honorary member of the Hellenic Professionals Informatics Society (HePIS) and a member of the Hellenic Sociological Society (HSS).