Catharsis In Gibran Khalil Gibran
Hüseyin YazıcıGibran Khalil Gibran lived a tempestuous life and, apart from having an important place in the world literature, is undoubtedly the most important name in the Arab migrant literature. He was a strange person with an enthusiastic personality and always had different perspectives on various issues. He was never a person who could easily accept criticism, and he was a unique person. Gibran was a pioneer of a form of literature, and his works, especially The Prophet, were and still are in great demand by readers. Naturally, some reasons occur behind the popularity of his works. With such interesting views as “One who does not write with the blood of one’s heart is a hypocrite,” “One who does not speak sincerely is dishonest,” and “One who does not sing from the heart just shouts,” Gibran fascinated many readers with a variety of feelings. He both provoked and encouraged people, as well as prepared them for catharsis. Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar said, “Whenever I read Tolstoy’s War and Peace, I found myself purified of every little selfish and stupid weakness. There is something in the great writer that washes the human spirit, like sleep.” Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, Kafka’s Trial and many other works evoke the same feeling in people when they are read. This article discusses the effect Gibran Khalil Gibran has had on readers and thus reflects on the concept of catharsis, which was put forward by the Hungarian philosopher and literary scientist Georg Lukacs (d. 1971).
Cibrân Halîl Cibrân’da Katharsis
Hüseyin YazıcıVelveleli bir hayat yaşamış olan Cibrân Halîl Cibrân’ın, Arap göç edebiyatının en önemli ismi olduğu ayrıca dünya edebiyatında da önemli bir yer edindiği konusunda hiç şüphe yoktur. Kabına asla sığmayan şahsiyetiyle aykırı bir tiptir. Din, din adamları, kadın, zenginlik, sosyal adalet, feodal yapı ve gelenekler gibi konularla ilgili hep farklı bakış açılarına sahip olmuştur. Eleştiriyi kolay kolay kabul edebilen bir şahsiyet hiç olmamıştır. Türkçede “Nevi şahsına münhasır bir adam” diye bir ifade vardır. İşte bu tanıma uyan bir kişiliktir. Bir edebiyatın öncüsü olan Cibrân’ın özellikle Ermiş adlı eseri okurlar tarafından büyük bir rağbet görmüş ve hala da görmektedir. Eserlerinin bu kadar rağbet görmesinin arkasında tabii olarak bazı nedenler yatmaktadır. “Kim yazarken kalbinin kanı ile yazmıyorsa ikiyüzlüdür.” “Kim konuşurken içten konuşmuyorsa sahtekârdır.” “Kim şarkı söylerken kalbiyle şarkı söylemiyorsa sadece bağırıp çağırıyordur.” şeklinde ilginç görüşleri olan Cibrân, insanları hem tahrik etmiş hem teşvik etmiş hem de katharsise hazırlamıştır. Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar, Tolstoy’un Harp ve Sulh adlı eserini her okuduğunda “İçimi her küçük bencil ve budala zaaftan temizlenir buldum. Büyük yazarda insan ruhunu yıkayan bir yan var. Uyku gibi…” ifadelerini kullanmıştır. Dostoyevski’nin Suç ve Ceza’sı, Kafka’nın Dava’sı ve daha pek çok eser okunduklarında insanda aynı duyguyu uyandırmaktadır. Bu makalemizde Cibrân Halîl Cibrân’ın okuyucu üzerindeki etkisi ve dolayısıyla daha çok Macar filozof ve edebiyat bilimcisi Georg Lukacs’ın (ö. 1971) ortaya koymuş olduğu katharsis kavramının ondaki yansıması ele alınmıştır.
Gibran Khalil Gibran lived a tempestuous life and, aside from having an important place in the world literature, is undoubtedly the most important name in the Arab literature of migration. He was a strange person with his enthusiastic personality and always had different perspectives on various issues. He was never one who could easily accept criticism, and he had a unique personality. Gibran was a pioneer of literature, and his works, especially The Prophet, were and still are in great demand. His work The Prophet was translated into Arabic by Antonios Beshir. Due to its popularity, it has been published many times over a short period as well as translated into foreign languages. According to one narration, Gibran Khalil Gibran in fact even said, “I sometimes feel embarrassed in the face of such interest.” Gibran Khalil Gibran’s other works have always remained popular. His life and works have always been a focus of attention, and he always maintained his characteristic focus on finding peace, relaxation, and purification. When looking at the sources that he benefitted from, William Blake, John Keats, and Nietzsche, who’ve all been called both insane and geniuses, are seen to have had a great effect on Gibran. No matter from which perspective one looks, the rebellious, oppositional, and revolutionary spirit one sees in the English poet William Blake, the German lyrical poet Friedrich Hölderlin, the French poet Charles Baudelaire, and the French realist writer Stendhal (1783-1842) are also seen in Gibran. In short, as one writer also stated, “Whether these personalities, including Gibran, are painters, poets, dramatists, or novelists, all of them are hostile to the society that is hostile to man.” While reading a book, watching a movie, or listening to music, humans can feel some emotions get activated within, empathize, and find oneself in a scene that comes to life in one’s mind. The main reason behind the interest Gibran, who’d been highly influenced by English literature, had in this literature is that it has both protesting and revolutionary characteristics. To not grapple with some emotions while reading this literature is impossible. Moreover, Gibran Khalil Gibran himself was a protester and revolutionary. As a matter of fact, these features can easily be found on almost every page of his books. According to Gibran, two types of people break human laws: one is a mad person and the other is a genius. Most importantly, however, those who are closest to the heart of Allah also have these two characteristics, and he viewed himself as being in this category. Gibran pursued the truth throughout his life. According to him, anyone who pursues the truth and reveals it to people is doomed to suffer. “I am extremely radical. Although I want to be constructive, I tend to be destructive. If I had the power to abolish people’s customs, beliefs, and traditions, I would not think for even a minute to do it”. By declaring this statement out loud, Gibran Khalil Gibran provoked and encouraged certain people and prepared them for catharsis. Naturally, some reasons exist behind the popularity of his works, such as how he activates people’s emotions and expresses what is in people’s minds. “One who does not write with the blood of one’s heart is a hypocrite”, “One who does not speak sincerely is dishonest” and “One who does not sing from the heart just shouts”. With such interesting views, he fascinated many readers with different feelings. Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar said, “Whenever I read Tolstoy’s War and Peace, I found myself purified of every little selfish and stupid weakness. There is something in the great writers that washes the human spirit, like sleep.” Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, Kafka’s Trial and many other works evoke the same feeling in people when they are read. This article discusses the effect Gibran Khalil Gibran has had on readers and thus also reflects on the concept of catharsis, which was put forward by the Hungarian philosopher and literary scientist Georg Lukacs (d. 1971).
