#madonna in a fur coat

[discoursets]

books of autumn. 🍁

[thevampiricnihal]

From Sabahattin Ali’s 1943 novella Madonna in a Fur Coat (translated by Maureen Freely and Alexander Dawe). It is one of the most popular and often-read Turkish classics, it is about the romance between a young Turkish man and a young German woman in 1923’s Berlin. (I am reading it now, I am currently at the chapter after this part).

It is so interesting to me that he likens the love interest to Nihal instead of Bihter.

The translation is lacking: In the Turkish passage the female figure also has “both innocence and willpower” along with “anguish and resolve”, which is very Nihal.

In a way the woman in the portrait that will later materialize as the female love interest (Maria Puder) being first likened to Nihal is very fitting, since Nihal too is first introduced/singled out/described in the narration of Aşk-ı Memnu via her portrait carved into wood (as opposed to how she was previously mentioned as a unit with her brother Bülent):

“For the last few days he had been trying to work a little plate with Nihal’s profile in its centre. He wanted to take this in his hand, wanted to work; he couldn’t work. He rang the bell again. Nesrin came in once more.

‘Haven’t Nihal and Bülent arrived?’

This time Nesrin smiled as she answered. ‘They haven’t, sir, but they will be here any minute now.’

When the girl had gone out, Adnan Bey felt a clear fear in his heart. Yes, they would be here any minute, and then, what would he do then?

He was thinking chiefly of Nihal. (…)

“Adnan Bey stretched out his hand, picked up the unfinished portrait of Nihal. This had not yet been completed, neither the waves of her hair that made a silken frame around her face, nor the unhealthy gauntness of her frail countenance. But he could clearly see, among those vague lines, the ailing face that gave him the urge to cry whenever he beheld it.

Ah! Nihal’s sorrowful, jaundiced face that seemed to complain of being alive; and in its yellow hue the deceptive joy of a fugitive pink, trembling with the delicacy of a rose that will fade at once. Those eyes that tried to fool you with their smile when she was ill, that tried to lull those around her into contentment, that laughed while deep within, her sickening soul wept. He saw the meaning behind all of these. He remembered at that time, his daughter’s illnesses, the nervous fits, the headaches that began all the way at the nape of her neck and continued for weeks…

(Chapter 2)

Of course the love interest in Madonna in a Fur Coat (Maria Puder) is being introduced via her self-portrait, whereas Nihal’s portrait is being made by her father. Which is also meaningful. Maybe it is the difference between a child and a woman, maybe it is the difference between an “Eastern” woman and a “Western” one, maybe it is the difference between a woman of 19th century and a woman of 20th century - it is probably all of these.

@winged-cries @princesssarisa @artemideaddams @ariel-seagull-wings @pileofsith @moonsingh @julyzaa

[normalfaerie]

‘Don’t take this personally,’ she said. ‘It’s just that we shouldn’t shy away from speaking openly about things that could hurt our relationship later. It’s at times like this that cowardice can be damaging … What will come of it? If we find we cannot get along, then we’ll just say goodbye and go our separate ways … Where’s the tragedy in that? The essence of life is in solitude – wouldn’t you agree? All unions are built on falsehood. People can only get to know each other up to a point and then they make up the rest, until one day, seeing their mistake, they turn their backs on sadness and run away. Would this ever happen, if they stopped believing in their dreams and made do with what was possible? If everyone accepted what was natural, then no one would suffer disappointment, no one would curse fate. We have every right to see our situation as pitiful, but we must confine our pity to ourselves. To pity another is to assume superiority and that is why we must never think we are superior to others, or that others are more unfortunate … Shall we go?’

- Madonna in a fur coat by Sabahattin Ali

[literarylullaby]

I have to remind myself that if I don't take care of myself, eventually my body will force me to. its better to never get to that point where you are at war with your body and just hoard all the stress that comes with regret.

so far I am severely burned out and I look at everything online to help me figure out how to not be in this toxic cycle where I binge self care and then end up indulging in neglect. overall its down to discipline but the only difference is that I kept trying to build this discipline out of fear instead of a comforting place to remind my body and mind that I have to keep up with my tasks and work from a place of love and empathy. that i'd love myself more and be helpful if i don't avoid in doing xyz task.

in case you need the reminder: close your laptop and phone, go outside (in whatever way you're capable of getting fresh air), shower, take 10 min to clean up your space, write down 3 things you desire in a small paper and chuck it away somewhere and spend sometime dreaming/imagining about what you wrote (as adults we're told to stop dreaming and be practical to the point i think most adults around me say they don't dream anymore in their sleep😞)

🎼 red tears by the johns

[beljar]

Why is it that even in the way you beg, there is dominance, and pity in the way we refuse?— there is no other creature on this earth that races after such easy success, and no other creature as proud, arrogant and egotistical, yet at the same time cowardly and set in his ways. Once I became aware of all of this, it was impossible for me to truly love men. Even the ones I liked the most,— the moment would arrive when some minor provocation had them baring their wolfish teeth; after being together, and giving each other an equal amount of pleasure, they’d sidle up to me, sighing idiotically, and either apologize or offer to protect me, making it clear that in their eyes, they had vanquished me… But they were in fact the ones who had exposed just how pitiful and miserable they really were. There is no woman as pitiful and ridiculous as a man swept away by his passions. At the same time they take huge pride in them, seeing them as proof of their virility.— Although I know that there is in me no tendency towards the unnatural, I would rather fall in love with a woman.’—It’s just that I’m a artist, as you know… I have my own standards of beauty… I don’t think it would be beautiful to make love to a woman… How can I put it… the aesthetics would be all wrong.

Maria Pruder, from Madonna in a Fur Coat, 1943 by Sabahattin Ali

[andreabadgley]

Continuing my reading tour of Turkey.

[movedtoeskew]

oh shit it's post in your language day *felkap egy szűrt és egészben megeszik egy vöröshagymát*

[najadaz]

Madonna in a fur coat📖

[sadevillain]

i just finished madonna in a fur coat and now i have no choice but to carry my melancholy into 2025. anyway what is everyone else reading

[itsallmadonnasfault]

Madonna was spotted in New York this week following a romantic getaway with her toyboy lover Akeem Morris, 28, in London recently.

The superstar singer, 66, cut a seriously cool figure in a PVC trench coat with a fur collar, which she wore with a silk dress and lace boots.

Despite the late hour, Madonna added a pair of chic shades to her ensemble, while wearing her blonde hair in loose waves.

Madonna was seen leaving Alice Tully Hall, which is a concert hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in the Upper West Side.

[nsewell]

[thevampiricnihal]

I have absolutely no tolerance for Raif Efendi not choosing to be a father to his daughter from the woman he loved. I understand that he hates himself and is a chronic introvert but this is ridiculous to me. I don’t care if my perspective on this will be deemed “shallow” by some people. All of his romantic thoughts and philosophizing feels completely empty after this.

[normalfaerie]

‘Don’t you find anything special about New Year?’ I asked.

‘No,’ she said. ‘How is it different from any other day? Was it distinguished by nature for any particular reason? And how important is it to mark the passing of another year? That’s not nature’s work either – it’s a human fabrication. The road we embark on the day we are born is the road we travel until the day we die, and however we choose to divide it up, it’s pure artifice. But let’s leave philosophy to one side and go somewhere for New Year’s, if that’s what you want …

[gghostwriter]

year-end tbr

in the spirit of keeping myself accountable and basically yapping on here, here’s a list to round out 2024 with literature. the good news is i’ve reached my reading goal a few months ago, the bad news is there’s still a lot to be read

Madonna in the Fur Coat by Sabahattin Ali

Agua Viva by Clarice Lispector

Done & Dusted by Lyla Sage

Orbital by Samantha Harvey

The God Of The Woods by Liz Moore

realistically may only finish one or two from this list but that’s still good in my books ✨

[lonelychicago]

i finished madonna in a fur coat yesterday and I'm still thinking about it...... oh the yearning, oh!! the fleeting nature of happiness!!! it was so heartbreaking and devastatingly sad!

[lobotomydaughter]

🐈‍⬛ | 2024 reading list

eileen by ottessa moshfegh | in the miso soup by ryu murakami | slow days, fast company by eve babitz | ✰✰✰ the memory police by yoko ogawa | sharks in the rivers by ada límon | sister of mine by laurie petrou | y/n by esther yi | my body by emily ratajkowski | ✰✰✰✰ tennis lessons by susannah dickey | goddess of filth by v castro | ✰✰✰✰

lolita by vladimir nabokov | being lolita by alisson wood | no ballet shoes in syria by catherine bruton | an education in malice by s.t. gibson | a long time dead by samara breger | the hacienda by isabel cañas | the mermaid from jeju by sumi hahn | the lover by silvia moreno-garcia | ✰✰✰✰ água viva by clarice lispector | penance by eliza clark | monstrilio by gerardo sámano córdova | the last tale of the flower bride by roshani chokshi | corazón by yesika salgado | valley of the dolls by jacqueline susann | my body keeps your secrets by lucia osborne-crowley | the torn skirt by rebecca godfrey | a girl is a half-formed thing by eimear mcbride | madonna in a fur coat by sabahattin ali | sugar, baby by celine saintclare | cross roads by laurel hightower | dear laura by gemma amor | they drown our daughters by katrina monroe | the pure moon reflected on the water by zen cho | rest and be thankful by emma glass | the keeper of the night by kylie lee baker | the empress of time by kylie lee baker | notes from the underground by dostoevsky | white nights by dostoevsky | rouge by mona awad | big bad by chandler baker |