Why the nineteenth-century Constantinopolitan space became an exceptional literary space

Résumé 0

The symbolic dimensions of the Constantinopolitan space are almost innumerable. In fact, it is a geographical spot that is renowned and deeply engraved in human consciousness, thanks to the many faces its various rulers have given it over the course of historical time: Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Franks, Ottomans, Turks. Therefore, the Constantinopolitan space easily lends itself to an immense variety of literary representations linked to a vast range of perspectives and ideologies (historical, socioeconomic, political, geographical, geophysical, ethnic, topographical, touristic, theological, etc.). Moreover, the Constantinopolitan space is primarily an urban structure evolving throughout the nineteenth century, progressively aligning with the European urbanization trend. We know that the intense urbanization of this period modified and renewed the forms and content of literary representations of the European space, both urban and rural. Just as we notice a huge increase in literary production, which focuses on describing and interpreting the major urban formations of the time: large cities, capitals, metropolises. In our opinion, in the case of Constantinople, this new trend in nineteenth-century literature can draw upon additional and exceptional data, which build cumulatively on those generated by the unique and fruitful coexistence of the city’s geographical, political, socioeconomic, and cultural space and its profound historical dynamism. In our article, we delve into these unique characteristics of Constantinople and explain why the study of its literary space can evolve into a line of research in its own right.