56. Today in 1920s Turkey: 4 February 1924 (The Ugly Husband)

(Cartoon by Ramiz, Akbaba or “Vulture/White-Bearded Old Man,” 4 February 1924, no. 122, page 2.)

Comments:
The superficial flapper girl with excessive material aspirations is a type that is so frequently featured in Turkish cartoons of this period it is quite possible to designate these works as a genre of their own. For other examples of this “genre” see: #37: Wife and Mother-in-Law Rivalry, #12: Single Ladies, and #3: Fashionable Nudity. These types of cartoons usually display similarities in style characterized by a flat surface treatment, calligraphic line, and graphic arrangement of shapes. Central to every cartoon in this genre is the female body decked out in the latest (and sometimes skimpiest) fashions.

Selfishness, deception, ignorance, single-mindedness, and an acute lack of empathy describe the types of women represented in these cartoons. The present cartoon’s text reveals the economic reasons behind one of the woman’s marriage. When confronted with the accusation that her husband is ugly, rather than attributing her “bad choice” to something immaterial like “love” or good personality traits, the woman concedes that she only married him out of necessity, in order to have her own space away from the over-crowded home of her father.

English:
— Don’t take offense [but] your husband is rather ugly!
— There were no rooms left in my father’s home!..

Türkçe:
— Darılma ama, kocan pek çirkin!
— Babamın evinde oda yoktu ya!..

(Entire page, Akbaba or “Vulture/White-Bearded Old Man,” 4 February 1924, no. 122, page 2.)