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Telling Tales: Harem Literature from East to West
by Reina Lewis
1. Western Fascination with the Harem
○ The Western imagination has long been captivated by the concept of the
harem, often portrayed as a secluded and exotic space. The popularity of
harem tourism and literature grew alongside fascination with the Topkapı
Palace in Istanbul. Western writers and travellers, particularly women,
accessed harems and offered descriptions that reflected and shaped Western
perceptions. Notably, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu’s Embassy Letters (1717)
popularized harem literature by providing a Western woman’s perspective on
the harem.
2. Rise of Ottoman Women’s Voices
○ By the late 19th century, changes in Ottoman society enabled elite women to
publish their writings, often in English. Unlike earlier accounts by Western
visitors, these narratives by Ottoman women aimed to counter Orientalist
stereotypes and share a more nuanced perspective. Ottoman women depicted
harems not merely as sites of confinement but as spaces of culture and social
gathering. Their works helped bridge cultural divides and contributed to
reform movements within the Ottoman Empire by challenging Western
misconceptions of “ignorant” or “oppressed” harem women.
3. Commodification and Authenticity
○ Ottoman women authors, such as the sisters known as Zeyneb Hanım and
Melek Hanım, navigated a market that valued exoticism. Their lives became
the inspiration for Pierre Loti’s novel Les Désenchantées (1906), and they
adopted the pseudonyms used in the book to appeal to Western readers. This
reliance on Orientalist tropes, however, created tension as these women sought
to maintain authenticity while meeting Western expectations of exoticism.
4. Critique of Orientalist Stereotypes
○ Ottoman writers like Zeyneb Hanım and Grace Ellison (a British feminist and
author of An Englishwoman in a Turkish Harem) actively contested Western
Orientalist views. Ellison, for example, was frustrated when British editors
rejected her photographs of harems because they contained European-style
furniture, which conflicted with British expectations. In response, Zeyneb
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Hanım’s work pointedly addressed misconceptions and criticized both Western
and Ottoman societies for their gender inequalities. Her commentary on
European society provided a counter-narrative to Orientalist depictions,
questioning the West’s own treatment of women.
5. Cross-Cultural Reflections and Feminism
○ Harem literature from Ottoman women revealed their insights into both
Ottoman and Western gender norms. Zeyneb Hanım, for example, expressed
shock at the British government’s harsh treatment of suffragettes, which
clashed with her admiration of Britain as a beacon of freedom. The
experiences of Ottoman women writers underscore how they interpreted
Western social issues through the lens of their own reforms and progressive
circles within the Ottoman Empire. This cross-cultural critique highlighted the
hypocrisy in Western views and the shared struggles for women’s rights across
cultural boundaries.
6. Economic Independence and the Role of Harem Literature
○ Writing provided Ottoman women with financial independence, mirroring
Western trends where women turned to literature to gain autonomy. Authors
like Demetra Vaka Brown, a Greek Ottoman who emigrated to the U.S.,
documented her childhood experiences in Istanbul, blending nostalgia for
Ottoman inclusivity with the cultural tensions of a post-imperial world. Her
ambivalence about Western Orientalist views reflects the complex identities of
Ottoman women who straddled Eastern and Western identities.
7. Impact of Harem Literature on Western and Ottoman Audiences
○ These writings served dual purposes: they reached Western audiences
fascinated with the “exotic” harem, while also providing an outlet for Ottoman
women to articulate their social critiques. By opening the private world of the
harem to readers, these authors presented it as a cultural institution with its
own dynamics rather than simply a symbol of oppression. The personal
became political as these works questioned both Ottoman traditions and
Western feminist movements.
Lewis’ article emphasizes how Ottoman women’s literature played a significant role in
reshaping Western perceptions of the harem while also contributing to a larger discourse on
gender and cultural identity. This genre challenged Orientalist fantasies and offered an
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insider’s perspective that fostered cross-cultural understanding and highlighted shared
feminist aspirations.
