Beşir Fuad
Beşir Fuad | |
---|---|
Born | c. 1852 |
Died | 5 February 1887 Constantinople, Ottoman Empire | (aged 34–35)
Nationality | Ottoman |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1883–1887 |
Military career | |
Allegiance | Ottoman Empire |
Years of service | 1873–1884 |
Rank | Binbashi |
Wars |
Beşir Fuad (c. 1852 – 5 February 1887) was an Ottoman soldier, intellectual, and writer during the First Constitutional Era.[1]
He wrote works on science, philosophy, literary criticism and biography. Unlike Tanzimat era intellectuals, who generally subscribed to romanticism, he promulgated realism and naturalism in literature; and positivism in philosophy. He has been called "the first Turkish positivist and naturalist".[2]
His suicide at the age of 35 had wide repercussions in the Ottoman society and the press, which were unfamiliar with the concept of suicide until then. His death is reported with starting a suicide epidemic in Istanbul.[3][4]
Early life and military career
Beşir Fuad was born in
After graduating from
His marriage to an aunt was arranged when he was very young, he had a son named Mehmet Cemil from this marriage. He divorced a short time later and married Şaziye Hanım, daughter of Salih Pasha, a son of the palace doctor Kadri Pasha. He had two sons from this marriage, Namık Kemal and Mehmed Selim. He also had a daughter named Feride, born to a French mistress.[6]
Career as a writer
Beşir Fuad was interested in science and philosophy, and thanks to his knowledge of English, French and German, he was able to keep up with Western intellectual and artistic developments. He started his career as a writer in 1883 by translating articles for the Envâr-ı Zekâ magazine. He left the military in 1884, and from then he devoted himself entirely to writing.
He published over 200 articles on science, philosophy, language learning and the military; as well as reviews of theatrical plays. During his short writing career, he also published 16 books, and introduced Western figures such as
He published the magazine Hâver, later Güneş, which ran for 12 issues. He wrote the editorials of Ceride-i Havadis for a month and a half. After the closure of that newspaper, he wrote articles for Tercüman-ı Adalet and Saadet.
Despite not writing any literature himself, he engaged in literary criticism, often contradicting the dominant views in the Ottoman Empire at the time. He defended the power and value of science and philosophy against the Romantic writers of the period, engaging in fierce arguments with Mehmet Tahir and Namık Kemal. He expressed his thoughts on art and philosophy in his work Intikad, which includes his correspondence with Muallim Naci.[7] Upon the death of Victor Hugo in 1885, he wrote a small book about him. This work is considered the first critical monograph written in the history of Turkish literature.[8] In another monograph on Voltaire, he defended positivism.
Death
His son Namık Kemal died at the age of one and a half years old from
He committed suicide on February 5, 1887 by cutting his wrists in his house. He first injected himself with cocaine to relieve the pain, and then cut his wrists. He took notes while he remained conscious, regarding his suicide as a scientific experiment:
I performed my operation and did not feel any pain. It hurts a little as the blood flows out. My sister-in-law came downstairs while the blood was flowing. I told her I shut the door because I was writing and send her back. Fortunately she did not come in. I cannot think of a sweeter death than this. I raised my arm like fury to let the blood out. I started to feel dizzy...[2]
He had intended to donate his body to the Imperial School of Medicine, but he was buried in Eyüp Cemetery instead. His tomb was later lost.[8] Beşir Fuad's death was widely reported in the press. Since suicide was a rarely discussed topic in the Ottoman Empire, it was reported as starting a suicide epidemic in Istanbul.[3][4] Subsequently, Abdul Hamid II's government banned newspapers from publishing news involving suicide.[6]
References
- ^ a b "Beşir Fuad". Biografya. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
- ^ a b Arslan, Devrim Ulaş; Işıklar Koçak, Müge (2014). "Beşir Fuad as a Self-Appointed Agent of Change: A Microhistorical Study". I.U. Journal of Translation Studies (8): 40–64. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
- ^ a b Şener, Recep. "Beşir Fuad ve İntihar Salgınımız". Futuristika (in Turkish). Retrieved 22 May 2022.
- ^ a b Bardakçı, Murat (11 January 1998). "İstanbul'da intihar salgını". Hürriyet (in Turkish). Retrieved 22 May 2022.
- ^ Çalışkan, Kerem (12 November 2018). "Beşir Fuad ya da bileklerini kesip kanıyla intihar mektubu yazan kardeşimiz". Vatan Kitap (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 30 January 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Özkıyım". Futuristika (in Turkish). 8 January 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
- ^ Doğu, Pınar (11 February 2013). "Beşir Fuad: Yanlış Kardeşim Benim..." T24 (in Turkish). Retrieved 22 May 2022.
- ^ . Retrieved 22 May 2022.