Turkish Family Narratives: The Relationships between Mothers- and Daughters-in-Law

Abstract

Through an analysis of eighteen family history interviews conducted with elderly women from Istanbul, this article examines the nature of the relationships between mothers- and daughters-in-law in Turkey between 1923 and the 1940s. This period marks the foundation of the republic and the Kemalist reforms that transform the way of life in society. The theory of narrative identity and the definition of family as a group of people who narrate the same story from generation to generation form the backbone of this study. The main themes of the interview data point out a kind of power relationship similar to Foucault's understanding of power and its use in everyday life. Thus, a social constructionist/hermeneutic position is adopted which integrates seemingly different theoretical conceptualizations like narrative identity, Foucault's concept of power, and Bourdieu's concepts of economic and cultural capital.