Aesthetics and politics in eighteenth century english women's travel writings on Ottoman Empire

This thesis studies Aesthetics and Politics in Eighteenth Century Women’s Travel Writings to Ottoman Empire. This thesis argues that a comprehensive understanding of the representation of the Ottoman Empire in eighteenth-century English women’s travel writing requires a new perspective through an analysis of cultural and political changes in the eighteenth century from Enlightenment to Romanticism. Of the only two eighteenth-century authors in the sample (Melman, 1995: 48) Lady Mary Montagu and Elisabeth Craven are two of the earliest English women travellers to Ottoman Empire; they both travelled in the eighteenth century and wrote several letters throughout their journeys. Nevertheless, their travel accounts portray conflicting visions of Ottoman culture. Placing great emphasis on Ottoman women and domestic culture, the former portrays an unbiased, open-minded, tolerant view about the Ottoman East whereas the latter is highly critical about Ottoman world, despises Ottoman women and culture while praising picturesque landscapes. Within this framework, Lady Mary Montagu’s The Turkish Embassy Letters (1994) from the Ottoman Empire between the years 1716 and 1718 reflect the cultural upheaval of Enlightenment, whereas Elisabeth Craven’s A Journey Through the Crimea to Constantinople. In a Series of Letters from the Right Honourable Elizabeth Lady Craven, to His Serene Highness the Margrave of Brandebourg, Anspach, and Bareith Written in the Year MDCCLXXXVI (1789) from almost the exact same spots in 1786 hint at the characteristics of the increasing imperial thought and Romanticism in England.A presente dissertação estuda a Literatura de Viagem sobre o Império Otomano de autoria feminina segundo uma perspectiva estética e política. Esta tese defende que uma abordagem abrangente do representação do Império Otomano na escrita de viagens das mulheres inglesas do século XVIII requer uma nova perspectiva através de uma análise das mudanças culturais e políticas no século XVIII, do Iluminismo ao Romantismo. As duas únicas autoras do século XVIII nesta amostragem, (Melman, 1995: 48) Lady Mary Montagu e Elisabeth Craven, são duas das primeiras mulheres britânicas viajantes para o Império Otomano; ambas viajaram no século XVIII e escreveram várias cartas ao longo de suas viagens. No entanto, os seus relatos retratam visões díspares da cultura otomana. Colocando grande ênfase nas mulheres otomanas e na cultura doméstica, a primeira adopta uma visão imparcial, aberta e tolerante sobre o Oriente Otomano , enquanto a segunda é extremamente crítica sobre o mundo otomano, despreza as mulheres e a cultura otomanas enquanto elogia paisagens pitorescas. Neste contexto, The Turkish Embassy Letters (1994) sobre o Império Otomano entre os anos 1716 e 1718 reflectem a agitação cultural do Iluminismo, enquanto A Journey Through the Crimea to Constantinople. In a Series of Letters from the Right Honourable Elizabeth Lady Craven, to His Serene Highness the Margrave of Brandebourg, Anspach, and Bareith Written in the Year MDCCLXXXVI (1789), respeitante quase exatamente aos mesmos locais em 1786, aponta para as características do crescente pensamento imperial e do Romantismo em Inglaterra