Representation of the Ottoman Empire: A Postcolonial Critique of The Architect’s Apprentice (2014)

Abstract

The study shows the representation of the Ottoman Empire using a postcolonial theoretical framework. The study analyses the selected novel in the backdrop of Eurocentric notions about Muslims. The study is non-empirical in nature and investigates the novel namely The Architect’s Apprentice by Elif Shafak. The novel retell and reconstruct the history of the Ottoman Empire from other’s perspective. The novel is studied using the postcolonial theoretical framework given by Homi K. Bhabha. The analysis of the novel shows that the writer has tried to subvert the fixed representations found in European literature. The writer through her novel has challenged the concept of fixity and racial and cultural purity. Furthermore, the study represents Muslims of the Ottoman-era as learned, inquisitive, progressive, and tolerant. Shafak has presented a non-stereotyped representation of the Ottoman Empire. The study concludes that postcolonial writers use the medium of fiction writing to assert their identity and history and they use literature as a tool of creative expression that is free from any extremity of Western imperialism and Eastern fundamentalism.