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The Harem ‘Hidden Years in the Harem…’ Part 1: Early Islamic to Pre-colonial era Week 1: The Nature of the Harem ‘Hidden Years in the Harem…’ • Previously discussed written text as ‘source’, including its ‘value’ and its ‘limitations’ [Mon. Sept.9] • How does ‘film representation’ relate to text? • Can historians make use of this ‘history for TV’ (film) text? • How did viewing film first influence/shape reading of memoir? ‘Hidden Years in the Harem…’ • Discussion included ‘what was surprising’ about memoir? • ‘happiness’ of women • Ability (at least at this time) to leave upon request • Concubine’s own history: daughter of concubine ‘gifted’ back to Palace • Forcing reconsideration of concubinage: ‘slavery’ yet… honourable, sought-after position ‘Hidden Years in the Harem…’ • Discussion included ‘what was surprising’ about memoir? • ‘entourage’ system that suggested internal competition, potential conflict • Also suggests potential political role/importance of harem • Undermines ‘image’ of harem as Sultan’s sexual playpen • Editor notes ‘surprisingly’ small number of concubines/children with last four sultans ‘Hidden Years in the Harem…’ • Discussion included ‘what was surprising’ about memoir? • Moving from ‘sexual playpen’ to ‘household’ • Members not only women but children, slaves, eunuchs • Not only part of Imperial Palace but other elite, even middle- class families ‘Hidden Years in the Harem…’ • Discussion included ‘what was surprising’ about memoir? • Did not address origin of concubines: slavery • Ties into larger economy, ‘slave trade’ (which changes over time) • In this moment (19th c.), Circassian women preferred for Palace • Scott Brookes [editor] explains in terms of political situation but actually, has longer history • Role of (black) African concubines in houses of elite in contrast [see ‘Circassian Slaves’ ‘Slave Market Constantinople’ in Rdgs.] ‘Hidden Years in the Harem…’ ‘Hidden Years in the Harem…’ 16th Century Italian Painting of Suleiman the Magnificent’s famous concubine then wife ‘Roxalanna’. Clearly Circassian (or possibly Georgian) slaves already highly Valued. ‘Hidden Years in the Harem…’ • Discussion included ‘what was surprising’ about memoir? • Noted changes to ‘system’ as refugee source declined, prices rose, depended on fewer ‘poor families’ to sell daughters • Filitzen’s story shows another aspect: emergence of internal generation women to supply palace • Not directly related to ‘slavery’ per se ‘Hidden Years in the Harem…’ • Discussion included ‘what was surprising’ about memoir? • Filitzen’s personal situation raises question: was she ‘slave’ in same way as her mother? • Answer to this takes us into realm of ‘Islam’ and its laws regarding slavery and concubinage • Importance: this memoir challenges idea that harem was ‘essentially’ Islamic – a key issue/question in our study [next week] • Underscores necessity of always understanding harem as changing ‘institution’, embedded in larger societal dynamics Meaning and Nature of ‘harem’ • Harem (pronounced [harem] ): Turkish, from Arabic: ," ḥaram "forbidden place; sacrosanct, sanctumﺣﺮم • ḥarīm, "a sacred inviolable place; female ﺣﺮﻳﻢ related to • members of the family" and "ḥarām, "forbidden; sacred ﺣﺮام • • (From Wikipedia) Meaning and Nature of ‘harem’ • Sacred, sanctum • Forbidden, inviolate • Schick adds ‘taboo’, ‘unlawful’; ‘that which needs to be honoured and defended – in particular man’s wives and family • Booth disagrees, argues nothing intrinsic refers to ‘women’, rather ‘domestic space’ Meaning and Nature of ‘harem’ • Not specific to ‘women’ though women can be included • Dual concept: • Space • People [who inhabit space – usually women but not restricted to women] Meaning and Nature of ‘harem’ • What can we draw from this range of meanings, disagreements, to help us understand ‘the harem’? Significance of ‘the harem’ • Role in ‘West-East’ relations, representations (travelogues, literary works, art) • ‘Orientalism’ (Edward Said) • “The Essentialized Harem…” [video, link in Readings] Significance of ‘the harem’ • Why did ‘the harem’ become symbolic of Said’s “other”? • Why is this useful or important for historians? Significance of ‘the harem’ • Space: ‘Gendered’, ‘Private vs Public’ • Conceptual framework frequently employed to discuss ‘gender’ several disciplines, including history • ‘harem’ lends itself well to approach, often argued to be ‘epitome’ of analysis, ‘legitimates’ use • ‘Private’: female, hidden, non-political, lesser importance • Public: male, visible, powerful (political, economic), central to society Significance of ‘the harem’ • [Booth] challenges degree to which even ‘harem’ was as physically ‘secluded’ as ‘private/public’ theory suggests: argues often ‘partial’ • [Schick] allows for ‘walls of harem’ but challenges degree to which ‘private’ was separate from public in terms of activities and role in society Significance of ‘the harem’ • How ‘gendered’ was harem space? • Some difference in emphasis [Booth, Schick] • Booth noting ‘domestic space’ embracing women, children, ‘family men’ • Schick arguing for attention NOT to ‘women’ per se but to ‘gender’ Significance of ‘the harem’ • Schick developing argument that looking at ‘harem’ in different societies (he specifically underscores that there is value in looking at similar space/people in non-Muslim societies) is helpful for understanding central dynamic of society: construction of gender • Argues that ‘insider/outsider’ dichotomy (parallel with ‘private/public’) is ‘natural’ to society: family is to be protected from ‘non-family’ • BUT: ‘overlay’ of gender (to degree he argues it exists) is another matter Significance of ‘the harem’ • ‘Overlay’ is social choice: in determining ‘harem’ in any given historical, social, cultural ‘moment’, society is constructing what being ‘female’ AND being ‘male’ should mean • Spends much of article talking about how ‘space’ and segregation become symbolic of social norms, values • Points to fact that this is ‘generic’ and not intrinsic to Islam [will come back to next week] Significance of ‘the harem’ • Why is Schick’s chapter important to us? • Underscores degree to which there are, even within literature trying to ‘reshape’ our understanding of the harem, differences in degree to which authors attach importance to role of ‘women’ • Raises question of how and why ‘the harem’ became symbolic of female space (rather than simply ‘family’ space, for example) • Emphasizes (along with Booth) importance of questioning essential ‘private/public’ arguments – relevance beyond study of harem Significance of ‘the harem’ • Contemporary Significance: ‘the harem’ as metaphor • Both Booth and Schick conclude with similar point: degree to which ‘harem’ remains symbolically important today • Booth: in ‘western eyes’ – harem now articulated in terms of ‘veil’ but with same political meaning • Schick: within Muslim societies themselves – ‘gendered space’ measure of ‘Islamism’, central to rhetoric Significance of ‘the harem’ “Thus, if the harem is popularly understood in Europe and North America as a thing of the past, old representations of it, with accumulations of newer and equally gendered images, continue to shadow how the region as a whole is imagined. …” Booth, p. 17 Significance of ‘the harem’ • Historical Significance: differs depending on ‘type’ of harem and societal context • Imperial or domestic? • Polygamous or monogamous? • Role: to produce heirs? To proclaim affirm status? To organize economy of household? • Function: of slavery and Islam? Of slavery and culture? Of culture and class? • Relation to abolition? To Colonialism? Significance of ‘the harem’ • Case Studies selected to allow exploration of range of ‘harems’ over time (from 10th through 20th centuries) and space (North, West, East Africa, Middle East): “[The Harem] with its dynamic histories and myriad manifestations across a range of societies, … as concept and institution reminds us that these representations [of whole cultures to each other through gendered identities], within and across cultural areas, are always located in social space and historical time.” • Booth, p.17.
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