Smyrna as the Cacophonic Space of the Other(s) in Martha Nicol’s Ismeer, or Smyrna, and its British Hospital in 1855, by a Lady

Authors : Nurten Birlik, Orkun Kocabıyık

Pages : 335-348

Doi:10.22559/folklor.4889

View : 74 | Download : 38

Publication Date : 2025-05-01

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :Martha Nicol’s diary Ismeer, or Smyrna, and its British hospital in 1855, by a lady [M. Nicol] gives the observations of a female nurse who comes to Smyrna (Izmir) to help the medical staff in the British Hospital during the Crimean War. In her limited encounters with the host cultures, the narrator’s rationality and immunity to and her clinical detachment from these cultures attract attention. Her mind works as a categorizing intellect rather than an empathizing observer. As a result, what we are given in her account is taxonomic observational data and substantive appearances as she remains on the surface of things. When she is outside the hospital, the social space remains undialectical and distant for her. This essay argues that there is implicit Eurocentrism combined with imperial ideology in her attitude. Her stay in Izmir also implies a cultural encounter between the West and its ontological Other, the East, for her, and is charged with resurfacing elements from the collective memory of her culture. This essay aims to discuss her attitude toward the local cultures in İzmir and how her account is characterized by the West- East dichotomy. This essay also aims to decipher the political unconscious of the text despite its observational representationalism. In this endeavor, it will give a hearing to what is voiced as well as what is left unvoiced, how the traditional binary polarities are employed within the textual universe of the book, how the Eurocentrism of the Westerners is foregrounded in the depictions and the possible subversions of this Eurocentrism.
Keywords : Martha Nicol, Kırım Savaşı, Avrupa merkezcilik, seyahatname, İzmir