Abstract
OPENING THE DOOR TO HORROR: GOTHIC ELEMENTS IN İZZET YASAR’S STORIES
Fear, which is one of basic emotions, corresponds to the term gothic in art. Throughout the history, the origin of the gothic which faced many changes in its meaning and focusing on “the other” and “the spooky” is based on Cermen tribe Got which caused the collapse of Roman Empire and became famous with looting and destruction. While gothic was defined as anti-civilization in ancient times, in 12th century it points out a different taste and understanding from the architecture of the period. At the age of enlightenment, it reveals its opposition by being against the values of modernity. The aim of gothic, which has turned into a style in various fields starting from an architectural field to painting and literature, is to give a sense of fear and horror in man. Fear and horror in literary products are presented through frightening characters and places, and exhibit the repressions in subconscious of nations. In this sense, the mentioned elements of gothic literature differ in Western and Eastern societies, and reflect the collective fear memory of societies. Gothic style found no place in novels and stories for a long time when Tanzimat accepted the literality as dominant element in Turkish literature. In the Republican period although Enlightenment mentality seems to slow down the progress of this style, it is possible to see that gothic elements were mentioned as a result of the curiosity for hidden and repressed facts. In this study, the gothic elements in the stories of modern Turkish literature writer Izzet Yasar (1951-2018) will be examined, and it will be suggested that Yaşar used the gothic to oppose the values of modernity and to make the modern man confront the fears.
Keywords
Gothic, fear, architecture, literature, story, İzzet Yasar.