Research Article
BibTex RIS Cite

ELIF SHAFAK’S ​THE FORTY RULES OF LOVE ​BETWEEN CONSTRUCTIVE AND DISRUPTIVE COSMOPOLITANISMS

Year 2020, Volume: 2 Issue: 2, 138 - 151, 25.12.2020

Abstract

In contemporary literature, cosmopolitanism has become more significant for fiction as it narrates today’s crucial nonhomogeneous political, social, and cultural issues. In a cosmopolitan context, authors respond to the needs of contemporary readerships by writing beyond nation, border, and topicality. Approaching otherness, migration, and mobility with a positive attitude, cosmopolitanism allegedly offers tools to negotiate with “the other” that transcend xenophobia and parochialism. This positive approach to “the other'' is presented in Elif Shafak’s 2010 novel, The Forty Rules of Love through the binary of localism-supralocalism and particularism-universalism. The book merges the fictionalized biography of the Persian-Turkish Sufi poet known to the West as Rumi, and the story of a Jewish-American housewife seeking spiritual renaissance in her monotonous life. Shafak managed to place her novel on the Turkish, American, and global literary markets due to her weaving of particular and universal narratives in the novel, but she creates her own notion of cosmopolitanism by appropriating vernacular stories and building transnational narratives out of them. Shafak’s decontextualization of Rumi’s biography in the novel is problematic since it distorts indigenous stories to meet the demands of global readerships and their cosmopolitan imaginaries. In her novel, Shafak does not offer co-evolution of the global and local actors; rather, the novel revolves around inextricable cosmopolitanism. This paper focuses on cosmopolitanism in Shafak’s The Forty Rules of Love not only as positive mode but also as generative of disruptive misrepresentations of Rumi.

References

  • Adil, A. (9 Jul. 2010). The forty rules of love, by Elif Shafak. Accessed: 10 May 2020, https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-forty-rules-of-love-by- elif-shafak-2021678.html.
  • Ahmad, M. (2014). Whitman and Hafiz: expressions of universal love and tolerance. M. Aminrazavi (Ed.), Sufism and American Literary Masters (pp. 153-162). Albany: State University of New York Press.
  • Anderson, B. (1983). Imagined communities: reflections on the origin and spread of nationalism.​ London: Verso.
  • Barks, C. (1995). The essential Rumi. ​New York: HarperCollins.
  • Boym, S. (2001). The future of nostalgia.​ New York: Basic Books.
  • Cheah, P. (1997). Given culture: rethinking cosmopolitical freedom in transnationalism. Boundary, 24(2), pp. ​157-197. doi: 10.2307/303767
  • Chernilo, D. (2012). Cosmopolitanism and the question of universalism. G. Delanty (Ed.), Routledge Handbook of Cosmopolitan Studies (pp. 47-59). London and New York: ​Routledge.
  • Chittick, W. C. (2005). The sufi doctrine of Rumi​. Bloomington: World Wisdom, Inc.
  • Delanty, G. (2006). The cosmopolitan imagination: critical cosmopolitanism and social theory. The British Journal of Sociology, 57(1), pp. 25-47.
  • Ekhtiyar, M. (2014). The chronological development of Emerson’s interest in Persian mysticism. M. Aminrazavi (Ed.), Sufism and American Literary Masters (pp. 55-74). Albany: State University of New York Press.
  • El-Zein, A. (2000). Spiritual consumption in the United States: the Rumi phenomenon. Islam and Christian–Muslim Relationships, 11(1), ​ pp. 71-85. doi: 10.1080/095964100111526
  • Farzan, M. (2014). Whitman and sufism: towards a “Persian lesson”. M. Aminrazavi (Ed.), Sufism and American Literary Masters (pp. 163-174). Albany: State University of New York Press.
  • Furlanetto, Elena. (2013). The ‘Rumi phenomenon’ between orientalism and cosmopolitanism: the case of Elif Shafak’s the forty rules of love. European Journal of English Studies, 17(2), pp. 201-213. doi: 10.1080/13825577.2013.797210
  • Furlanetto, Elena. (2017). Towards Turkish American literature: narrative of multiculturalism in post-imperial Turkey.​ Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang GmbH.
  • Hodder, A. (2010). Asian influences. S. Harbert-Petrulionis, L. Dassow-Walls, and J. Myerson (Ed.), The Handbook of Transcendentalism (pp. 27-37). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Intelligence Squared. Accessed: 21 Jun. 2020, https://www.intelligencesquared.com/events/if-you-believe-you-are-a-citizen-of-the-world-yo u-are-a-citizen-of-nowhere/.
  • Moaveni, A. (20 Jan. 2017). How did Rumi become one of our best-selling poets?. Accessed: 10 May 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/20/books/review/rumi-brad-gooch.html.
  • Morgan, J. H. (2013). Disentangling religion and culture: Americanizing Islam as the price of assimilation. International Journal of Islamic Thought, 4, pp.​ 28-36.
  • Obeidat, M. M. (2014). Ralph Waldo Emerson and the Muslim orient. M. Aminrazavi (Ed.), Sufism and American Literary Masters (pp. 75-90). Albany: State University of New York Press.
  • Rapport, N. (2012). Emancipatory cosmopolitanism. G. Delanty (Ed.), Routledge Handbook of Cosmopolitan Studies.​ London: Routledge.
  • Safavi, S. G. and Weightman, S. (2009). Rumi’s mystical design. ​New York: Suny Press.
  • Said, E. (1994). Culture and imperialism​. Vintage Books UK.
  • Said, E. (2003). Orientalism (1978). New York: Penguin.
  • Shafak, E. (2010). The forty rules of love​. New York: Penguin.
  • Shafak, E. (3 Apr. 2007). Elif Shafak: crossover artists: writing in another language. Accessed: 15 May 2020, https://pen.org/elif-shafak-crossover-artists-writing-in-another-language/.
  • Shafak, E. (19 Nov. 2014). Elif Shafak: ‘writing in English brings me closer to Turkey’. Accessed: 10 May 2020, https://www.britishcouncil.org/voices-magazine/elif-shafak-writing-english-brings-me-closer- turkey.
  • van Bruinessen, M. (2009). Sufism, ‘popular’ Islam and the encounter with modernity. M. K. Masud, A. Salvatore, and M. van Bruinessen (Ed.), Islam and Modernity (pp. 125-157). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Year 2020, Volume: 2 Issue: 2, 138 - 151, 25.12.2020

Abstract

References

  • Adil, A. (9 Jul. 2010). The forty rules of love, by Elif Shafak. Accessed: 10 May 2020, https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-forty-rules-of-love-by- elif-shafak-2021678.html.
  • Ahmad, M. (2014). Whitman and Hafiz: expressions of universal love and tolerance. M. Aminrazavi (Ed.), Sufism and American Literary Masters (pp. 153-162). Albany: State University of New York Press.
  • Anderson, B. (1983). Imagined communities: reflections on the origin and spread of nationalism.​ London: Verso.
  • Barks, C. (1995). The essential Rumi. ​New York: HarperCollins.
  • Boym, S. (2001). The future of nostalgia.​ New York: Basic Books.
  • Cheah, P. (1997). Given culture: rethinking cosmopolitical freedom in transnationalism. Boundary, 24(2), pp. ​157-197. doi: 10.2307/303767
  • Chernilo, D. (2012). Cosmopolitanism and the question of universalism. G. Delanty (Ed.), Routledge Handbook of Cosmopolitan Studies (pp. 47-59). London and New York: ​Routledge.
  • Chittick, W. C. (2005). The sufi doctrine of Rumi​. Bloomington: World Wisdom, Inc.
  • Delanty, G. (2006). The cosmopolitan imagination: critical cosmopolitanism and social theory. The British Journal of Sociology, 57(1), pp. 25-47.
  • Ekhtiyar, M. (2014). The chronological development of Emerson’s interest in Persian mysticism. M. Aminrazavi (Ed.), Sufism and American Literary Masters (pp. 55-74). Albany: State University of New York Press.
  • El-Zein, A. (2000). Spiritual consumption in the United States: the Rumi phenomenon. Islam and Christian–Muslim Relationships, 11(1), ​ pp. 71-85. doi: 10.1080/095964100111526
  • Farzan, M. (2014). Whitman and sufism: towards a “Persian lesson”. M. Aminrazavi (Ed.), Sufism and American Literary Masters (pp. 163-174). Albany: State University of New York Press.
  • Furlanetto, Elena. (2013). The ‘Rumi phenomenon’ between orientalism and cosmopolitanism: the case of Elif Shafak’s the forty rules of love. European Journal of English Studies, 17(2), pp. 201-213. doi: 10.1080/13825577.2013.797210
  • Furlanetto, Elena. (2017). Towards Turkish American literature: narrative of multiculturalism in post-imperial Turkey.​ Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang GmbH.
  • Hodder, A. (2010). Asian influences. S. Harbert-Petrulionis, L. Dassow-Walls, and J. Myerson (Ed.), The Handbook of Transcendentalism (pp. 27-37). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Intelligence Squared. Accessed: 21 Jun. 2020, https://www.intelligencesquared.com/events/if-you-believe-you-are-a-citizen-of-the-world-yo u-are-a-citizen-of-nowhere/.
  • Moaveni, A. (20 Jan. 2017). How did Rumi become one of our best-selling poets?. Accessed: 10 May 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/20/books/review/rumi-brad-gooch.html.
  • Morgan, J. H. (2013). Disentangling religion and culture: Americanizing Islam as the price of assimilation. International Journal of Islamic Thought, 4, pp.​ 28-36.
  • Obeidat, M. M. (2014). Ralph Waldo Emerson and the Muslim orient. M. Aminrazavi (Ed.), Sufism and American Literary Masters (pp. 75-90). Albany: State University of New York Press.
  • Rapport, N. (2012). Emancipatory cosmopolitanism. G. Delanty (Ed.), Routledge Handbook of Cosmopolitan Studies.​ London: Routledge.
  • Safavi, S. G. and Weightman, S. (2009). Rumi’s mystical design. ​New York: Suny Press.
  • Said, E. (1994). Culture and imperialism​. Vintage Books UK.
  • Said, E. (2003). Orientalism (1978). New York: Penguin.
  • Shafak, E. (2010). The forty rules of love​. New York: Penguin.
  • Shafak, E. (3 Apr. 2007). Elif Shafak: crossover artists: writing in another language. Accessed: 15 May 2020, https://pen.org/elif-shafak-crossover-artists-writing-in-another-language/.
  • Shafak, E. (19 Nov. 2014). Elif Shafak: ‘writing in English brings me closer to Turkey’. Accessed: 10 May 2020, https://www.britishcouncil.org/voices-magazine/elif-shafak-writing-english-brings-me-closer- turkey.
  • van Bruinessen, M. (2009). Sufism, ‘popular’ Islam and the encounter with modernity. M. K. Masud, A. Salvatore, and M. van Bruinessen (Ed.), Islam and Modernity (pp. 125-157). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
There are 27 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Creative Arts and Writing
Journal Section Articles
Authors

Melih Kökcü

Publication Date December 25, 2020
Published in Issue Year 2020 Volume: 2 Issue: 2

Cite

APA Kökcü, M. (2020). ELIF SHAFAK’S ​THE FORTY RULES OF LOVE ​BETWEEN CONSTRUCTIVE AND DISRUPTIVE COSMOPOLITANISMS. Eurasian Journal of English Language and Literature, 2(2), 138-151.