Then another whispered conversation began in Janan’s room. Since there was only a flimsy wall between Josephine and them, it wasn’t possible for them to speak loudly. However, had Josephine attempted to listen in on their whispered conversation, she would’ve heard nothing but a confirmation of the assurance she’d given Janan. Why should we write needlessly about that assurance again here? It would be enough simply to convey the words uttered by Râkım. “Nanny went to sleep! I couldn’t get to sleep, and so I came here, Janan!”
After fifteen or twenty minutes, these whispers also ended, and a general silence indicated that everybody in the house had fallen into a sweet sleep.
As it was summer, Janan, as she had been instructed to do, woke her master, oh no, her dear master, early in the morning, and although we say “early,” it was nearly dawn. He got up and went to Nanny’s room, which was still covered in darkness, to move his bed there without her noticing but he saw that Nanny was not in bed. He heard her rattling the pots and pans downstairs. Thinking, “You see, Nanny also knows what’s going on now. It’s all right though, wasn’t this what she hoped for all along? Let her rejoice,” he entered his bed innocently daydreaming and went back to sleep.
Two hours later, Râkım woke up again and found everyone up. Since the joy of morning is most special in winter, Josephine didn’t find it as enjoyable to look out at the garden on that summer morning. Nevertheless, they amused themselves for another hour, and then Josephine got up and got dressed. After saying goodbye to Râkım, she left the house and went off to work.
Hadn’t Râkım said something like “Let Nanny rejoice,” when he’d moved his things into her room that morning? Would you be surprised if we told you that he observed the opposite of what he had expected? Nanny had such an expression, such a look on her face . . . God forbid! In fact, when Râkım asked if she had any major purchases to make from the market that day, she said that they didn’t need anything; every single letter of her response, however, hit Râkım on the head like a stone.
Oh, our dear Nanny! As if it were the end of the world!
Yes, see, our nanny, who loved Râkım like her own son and Janan like her own daughter and deemed it the greatest honor to marry them off, was full of rage and anger!
After Râkım departed, Janan came up to Nanny and told her with gratitude and contentment that she was very pleased that Josephine had come and fended off all of her master’s grief. She said, if it hadn’t been for that good, sweet woman, her master would have remained in the doldrums.
FEDAYI (about to cry out of sadness and rage): If that woman enters this house one more time . . . she can fend off your master’s grief all she wants!
JANAN: What’s wrong, Nanny?
FEDAYI: I know what happened. Poor girl! I know what happened.
JANAN (fearfully): My dear Nanny, what happened for God’s sake? I really want to know.
FEDAYI: If you knew what happened, you’d also never want to let that woman in this house, and make Master swear that he will never see her again.
JANAN: Do I ever disagree with you, my dear Nanny? But tell me what happened, for God’s sake, dear Nanny! What is it that made you so angry?
FEDAYI: It’s not good to share such things with you but since I am so bothered about it, I won’t be able to keep it from you anymore, so here, I’ll tell you.
JANAN: Say it, dear Nanny. Just say it, for God’s sake!
FEDAYI: What I want to tell you is . . . What would you say if I told you that Master escaped from his bed, thinking I was asleep?
JANAN (blushing): What?
FEDAYI: Don’t you get it?
JANAN: I don’t understand, dear Nanny.
FEDAYI: You silly girl! You don’t realize what’s going on. So this was why we couldn’t make Master fancy you. Last night, he left my room and went directly to that French madame’s room. I heard it all the way from down here in the kitchen, when he slowly crept back this morning. How can I consent to this happening?
Suspicions such as these would probably cause any other girl to give a mocking smile but for Janan, it only made her more hesitant and embarrassed. However, she couldn’t let her Nanny feel such anger toward her master out of groundless and evil suppositions, fearing that something bad might happen if these misunderstandings led Nanny to utter some harsh words toward the already sorrowful Râkım.
JANAN: Well, dear Nanny, can I tell you something?
FEDAYI: Let’s hear it.
JANAN: I wouldn’t expect that from either Josephine or my master.
FEDAYI: You must be joking! I told you, you have no idea what’s going on around you.
JANAN: But I do, Nanny, I do.
FEDAYI (her suspicions vanishing immediately after seeing Janan blush): Girl! You can’t be serious!
JANAN (lowering her face): Yes, Nanny, I am.
FEDAYI: Was he with you?
JANAN (seeing no need for more embarrassment, runs to Nanny, embraces and kisses her): Am I not your daughter, dear Nanny? Are you not my mother, eh?
FEDAYI (with a greater happiness than Janan’s, kissing her): So, that’s it? Oh, yes, you were my daughter, but now even more so. Oh, thank God! Poor madame, poor Râkım, I accused them both wrongly for no reason. Of course I give you my blessings!
This loyal Arab’s rage and anger from a moment ago turned into pleasure and joy of the same magnitude and she gave Janan a slew of instructions. Especially after Janan told Nanny about what a loyal, loving and friendly woman Josephine has been to both her master and herself, the Arab’s former affection for Josephine increased.
When Râkım returned home that night, Fedayi couldn’t hide her pleasure and broached the subject with him. Râkım admitted and even said with pride that he hadn’t taken Janan as a concubine but had married her. He added that they were going to marry legally. Imagine Nanny’s joy! Both Râkım and Janan were in her arms. She kissed them both.
When Josephine came for the next lesson, Nanny used Janan as a translator to explain the situation to Josephine and asked for forgiveness for her mistake, thinking, “I shall not be burdened with this sin.” Josephine burst out laughing, which expressed many things, and she said, “If Râkım and Janan have a friend more loyal than I, it’s you. I know that you hoped to see Janan and Râkım’s marriage and made a lot of effort to make this happen. However, you only encouraged Janan. I undertook to encourage Râkım. If you don’t believe me, ask him. He’s a trustworthy young man; he won’t deny it.” In fact, when the evening came and Râkım arrived, he didn’t deny how much Josephine had encouraged his love for Janan and gratefully said that if Nanny were one of the two people who loved him in this world, Josephine would be the other.
Chapter 11
JAN’S ILLNESS intensified after Monsieur Z——, Râkım, and her father failed in the game they’d attempted to play out in front of her and after she’d revealed her secret. Because of this, Mr. Ziklas was worried about his other daughter, Margaret, and whisked her off to Alexandria with some ruses and promises. Upon the girl’s request, Mr. Ziklas invited Râkım by letter, asking to see her off at the ferry.
Râkım got on a boat with Margaret and her parents by the shore at the Kurşunlu Mahzen area and headed out to the ferry. The captain respectfully offered them tea and coffee in the first-class cabin, as Mr. Ziklas had entrusted his daughter to his care. After sitting for a while, they got ready to depart, and while Margaret took leave from her parents, she slowly whispered into Râkım’s ear in Turkish, “Oh, Râkım! If it were possible to divide you into three pieces, I would do everything I could to own one of them. I had to give up when I found out about my sister’s interest in you. If I hadn’t learned about it, you would have seen me confined to my bed, too! I did what I could; I hardened my heart like a stone and saved myself from the claws of death, which is your love. Send my greetings to Janan. Let her know that she is the murderer of my sister. But assure her that she is not to blame for this murder.”
How peculiar!
Yes, this part is a bit peculiar. Do you want to hear something more peculiar? Felâtun Bey, who was assuming the position of district governor of a Mediterranean island, was on the very same ferry leaving from Istanbul. Râkım ran into him on the deck.
RKIM: Well hello, Sir! God bless you.
FELTUN: I am leaving the pleasures of Istanbul to you, Brother. I’ve been appointed as a district governor for the —— Island, I’m leaving. Now you can fully enjoy yourself with Mademoiselle Ziklas.
RKIM (sighing heavily): We’re going to take one of them to her grave one of these days. The other one is going to Alexandria on this same ferry. If anybody is enjoying the pleasures of Istanbul, it’s you.
FELTUN (sighing more heavily than Râkım Efendi): Yes, you’re right. After spending all that was left from my father, I borrowed around 150,000 kuruş. Not bad for pleasure, eh?
RKIM: It’s all right, my friend. It takes time for people to come to their senses. You won’t do it again.
FELTUN: With the salary I’ll receive, even if I live long enough to feed myself and pay off my debt of 150,000 kuruş with what remains, I’ll only be able to find time for pleasure again in my nineties.
RKIM: Oh come on, my friend, aren’t all debts payable?
FELTUN: No, my friend! I indulged myself in pleasure, acted like a child, and made every possible mistake. Trust me when I tell you that that I’ll be content with my salary and work honestly and candidly where I am appointed as an official.
RKIM: God knows I’ve always trusted you. May God promptly bring you success. What I mean to say is that I hope you work your way up, pay off your debts, and find the opportunity to enjoy yourself with your earnings.
FELTUN: As long as one serves loyally, there’s no reason for it not to happen.
RKIM: See, that’s the kind of attitude I’d like you to adopt as you assume your official duties. God will be with you if you believe this and commit to it. I wish you every success, brother! You won’t forget us, will you? Let’s write to each other every now and then.
FELTUN: Certainly, adieu mon cher!
RKIM: Bon voyage, mon ami!
What happened to the English family’s grudge? The animosity between the Ziklas family and Felâtun, which had developed as a result of the mayonnaise incident, continued in all its intensity. Although they saw Felâtun bidding farewell to Râkım, they didn’t even greet him. But weren’t they justified?
They got back on the boat, which they had taken there, and went back to the shore near the Kurşunlu Mahzen area. Râkım told them that he had some work to take care of and returned to his house. Mr. Ziklas and his wife busied themselves with desperate Jan, who was confined to her bed. Since the doctor stopped occupying himself with the poor girl, her parents gave her everything she asked for while they waited for her imminent demise. That day, the girl felt like eating meat. She called the cook and ordered some good meat broth and instructed him to make it very strong. Her parents found her eating the soup and breaking biscuits into it. Since they hadn’t witnessed anything like it for a long time, they were surprised. After eating her food, she didn’t lie down in bed but sat up and asked them to call Doctor Monsieur Z——.
The doctor arrived an hour later. The girl informed him that she felt some sort of itching on her chest, something that she’d never felt before.
DOCTOR: Are you still bleeding?
JAN: Not for the last two days.
DOCTOR: Any phlegm?
JAN: Two days ago, I was spitting up bloody phlegm.
DOCTOR: Very well, very well, so you’re feeling more at ease. Now that you are at ease, it isn’t necessary to make any new arrangements. You should eat well and protect yourself from the cold.
Even though the doctor gave these orders, his heart was actually saying, “This means that two days from now, you’ll be completely and finally at ease, for the symptoms of this illness disappear in the last days of a person’s life.” However, how could the parents know what the doctor’s heart was saying? When the doctor said, “All right, all right,” they assumed that their girl was really all right.
But what does this illness do really? It makes more room in one’s stomach, is this what it does? Jan’s stomach suddenly became so strong. Since the concentrated meat broth was improving her lungs, her cough went away altogether and they forgot about her blood and phlegm. The strange thing is that not two but five days went by after the doctor’s visit and she hadn’t died! Moreover, it was starting to seem as if she didn’t want to either.
Accordingly, they called the doctor again who, after examining the girl thoroughly, couldn’t make sense of how the illness had taken such a turn. As a precaution, before he departed the doctor gave her a syrup that would neither benefit nor harm her, suggested she continue to eat well, and protect herself from the cold, moisture, and dust.
How effective the doctor’s medicine was this time! The girl’s stomach was gradually getting stronger. They called the doctor on the second day as well and asked for the same medicine; only this time they asked for a slightly stronger version of it. The man knew that it couldn’t have such an effect but he didn’t want to spoil the good impression his medicine created and prepared a supposedly stronger one.
Yes, this time the medicine had a stronger effect! The patient who could barely move in her bed started wandering around the room. Now, can you refute what Molière said about doctors? The most scientific aspect of being a doctor is understanding if a patient is dead; otherwise even if they can diagnose the specific disease, since diseases have many types, they can never discern its type. The books on pathology say there is no medicine for tuberculosis and all the medicines that are being prescribed are experimental. In fine print, however, the last two lines warn, “There are people who survive this illness on their own.” Now, when our Doctor Z—— saw that Jan was returning to life, he thought, “So this last remark in the pathology book is true!” Feeling surprised and after observing that the girl would definitely recover, he pranced around like Luqman the Wise. “If my mother-in-law were with me now, even she would pass herself off as Hippocrates,” he thought to himself.
Seriously! The girl really came back to herself. She even left the sickbed for good. She put on her morning dress. Although Mr. Ziklas wrote to Râkım every two days about the changes in the girl’s condition, he always added, “There, my son, I’ve given you all there is to know. However, if you come and visit my daughter, I fear that her illness might return.”
Meanwhile, what would you say if we told you that the girl asked for her teacher when she regained her health and began getting bored? Before Doctor Z—— could object, her father objected, saying that it might cause her illness to return, but it was impossible to convince the girl who assured them that she couldn’t feel anything like love for Râkım in her heart anymore. She even consented when her father suggested that she get married to her cousin from Izmir, who was already eager to marry her. With these assurances, a servant was sent to fetch Râkım.
When Râkım saw the girl alive, he was delirious with happiness. When Jan saw Râkım, she felt greater peace and tranquility, and recited the couplet, “If all the horizons gather around your head, it is not possible that desire for you be driven from my head.” Râkım told her that these were the very couplets that had put her in this condition in the first place, and asked her not to place importance on such poetic dreams. The girl assured him that she was going to make an effort to protect the life she had regained, and with this, everybody rejoiced.
Râkım was so happy that he choked up but Jan and her parents understood what it was that he wanted to say. Nevertheless, after Jan asked him what he was trying to say, Râkım replied, “Miss, what I’m going to say is for Monsieur Ziklas!” and pulled him aside. “Do you see, Monsieur Ziklas? God Most Gracious returned to you your saintly daughter and 300,000 liras of fortune.” When Mr. Ziklas heard the contented, trustworthy and loyal Râkım utter these words, his love for him deepened and
he genuinely wanted to embrace him.
We’ll take no delight in getting wordy from now on. Let’s be brief and settle this amicably:
Nearly three months had passed since Mr. Ziklas wrote what he needed to write and completed the necessary correspondence when Margaret returned from Alexandria, Jan’s fiancé arrived from Izmir, and one of Ziklas’s nephews, whose marriage to Margaret was decided upon incidentally, came from Aleppo, and at the ball organized for the girls’ weddings in November, Râkım danced the polka for the first time in his life.
What’s more, when he returned home the next day, his nanny informed him that a new life was playing around in Janan’s belly; hearing this news made Râkım happier than anything else.
And so we proudly inform our readers that six months later Râkım delighted his loyal friend Josephine by putting a swaddled cherubic baby boy on her lap; and with this, we bring our story to an end.
THE END
Afterword
Index
Afterword
A. HOLLY SHISSLER
FELTUN BEY AND RKıM EFENDI (1875) is one of the earliest examples of the Ottoman novel. Ahmet Midhat was called in his own day the People’s First Teacher (a label drawn from the title of some textbooks he wrote early in his career) due to his prolific writing and commitment to educating a broad public. Humorous and moralizing at the same time, Felâtun Bey and Râkım Efendi struck a chord with a wide audience such that its characters, particularly Felâtun, constitute enduring types that frequently populate subsequent Turkish literature. “The Felatun type is the first example in the Turkish novel of the alafranga dandy [züppe] who later reappeared in such works as Recaizade [Ekrems]’s The Love of Carriages (1896), Hüseyin Rahmi’s Always in Love (1911), and Ömer Seyfettin’s Efruz Bey (1919).”1
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