Klasik Doğu ve Batı Edebiyatındaki Cimri Karakteri: Câhız ve Moliere Örneği
Stingy Charecter in Classical Eastern and Western Literature: Sample of Jahiz and Moliere
Yazar: Efil, Muhammed; Uz, Emin
Dergi: Bilimname, Vol. 2019 No. 39, 2019
Anahtar kelimeler: Arap Dili ve Belagatı,Cimri,Mizah

Coğrafyanın stratejik durumu itibariyle kadim Yunan bilgelerine ve filozoflarına ait hikemiyâtın büyük bir bölümünün Arap dünyasına nakli itina ile gerçekleşmiş, bu etkileşim Batı edebiyatında da ciddi yansımalar bulup Doğu’nun klasikleri arasında yer alan eserler Latince’ye çevrilmiştir. Bu etkileşimi sağlayan eserlerin ana temalarından birisi sosyal bir zümre haline gelen cimrilerdir. Nitekim araştırma konumuz olan cimri karakterini içeren klasik kaynakların Diyojen, Aristo, Sokrat, Enûşirvân gibi isimler üzerinden anlatımı Arap mizahının, en başından beri yabancı kültürlerce üretilen mizahi ürünleri kendi bünyesine adapte edebilme başarısının bir sonucu olsa gerektir. Cimrilik konusuna tahsis edilmiş müstakil çalışma sayısı sınırlı olmasına rağmen, ahlak, makâmât, mizah içerikli ansiklopedik eserlerde bu karakter genişçe yer almaktadır. Bu eserlerde cimri karakterini işleyen yazarların salt mizah kaygısı gütmediği, bunun yanında siyasi ve sosyal bir eleştiri amaçladıkları açıkça ortaya çıkmaktadır. Nitekim Arap edebiyatının cimrilik temalı anlatılar bağlamında dünyanın en geniş repertuarına sahip olduğu ileri sürülebilirken Batı edebiyatında da bu alanda özel olarak neşredilmiş eserlere rastlamak mümkündür. Söz konusu figür bağlamında Doğu edebiyatının temsilcisi sayılan ve bu temaya ilişkin müstakil eser telif eden Câhız’ın başyapıtı niteliğindeki Buhalâ isimli eseri çeşitli dillere çevrilmiş ve dünya edebiyat tarihinde kendisinden sıkça söz ettirmiştir. Buna karşılık Batı edebiyatında hasis karakterini işleyen en önemli eser şüphesiz Moliere’in özgün adı L'Avare olan Cimri olan eseridir. Doğu ve Batı edebiyatının klasikleri arasında yer almaları hasebiyle çalışmamızın temel kaynakları Moliere’in Cimri’si ve Câhız’ın Buhalâ’sı olarak belirlenmiş; bu iki eser özelinde Doğu ve Batı edebiyatında yer alan cimri figürü değerlendirme konusu yapılmıştır.

Before copyright of the sources of classical Arab humor, the Arab literature was remarked for its open and tolerant stance on external influences such as aphorism, parable and wise quotations and fable technique. Due to the strategic position of the geography, the history of ancient Greek sages and philosophers should be a part of such understanding and should be revered with great respect. The narrative of classical sources, including the ungenerous character, which is the topic of our research through the names Diyojens, Aristotle, Socrates, Enûşirvân, should be the result of the success of the Arab humor to adapt the humorous products produced by foreign cultures to its own structure. The inclusion of this character in the Jahiliyya poems and the frequent mention of Arab generosity stems from the fact that pintism, more than nationalism, cannot be attributed to Arab society. Besides, the abundant usage of the sources of the miserly typology, which contain plenty of expressions, are proof that this humorous character is used as a material to fuel tribal support.The mention of this subject among the important themes of classical Arabic literature stems from the strength of its political and social reflections, rather than mentioning the immorality of typology. Thus, when it is thought that the people who are described as ungenerous are mostly powerful in the meaning of economical and political power, it becomes clear that the writers who use the ungenerous character in their works do not have a mere concern of humor, but they also seek a political and social criticism. In addition, writers have taken part in politics from time to time and they had the opportunity to evaluate the issue in the media. The fact that Sehl b. Harun who served in important positions in the palace during the time of Caliph el-Me’mun and because Jahiz frequently criticized the Abbasid administration at this point reveals an ungenerous character intertwined with politics. Although the number of independent works devoted directly to “stinginess” is limited, it can be argued that classical Arabic literature in general has the largest repertoire in the world in terms of stingy themed narratives. Although Jahiz is shown as the first author who mentioned stinginess in history, there were people who used this theme albeit at the level of epistle. Thus, Sehl b. Harun who lived in the end of second century to the start of third century and who is considered as one of the most prominent figures in Arabic Literature, has drawn attention by his epistle by praising the “stinginess” in a artistic and logical way. In this context, it was the inspiration of Jahiz who came after him. Jahiz, in the introduction of the work he wrote, included the epistle of Sehl which is about stinginess and named his new book el-Buhala which means ungenerous people. The work of the subject and the author's magnum opus was later translated into various languages and frequently mentioned in the history of world literature. Thus, Arab Literature can be very proud to say that they have copyrighted the classic book of Jahiz centruies before the likes of his similars like Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist and Scrooge and Moliere’s L’avare. Because he wrote jihanşümûl works both in the field of humor and on the stingy figure, Jahiz became the main character in our work as the eastern representative of Moliere. The most important reason behind criticizing or praising the passion and ambition that is revealed in the characters of societies is the idea of creating a virtuous and free from defects society. This ideal has found its place in almost every civilization. Many wise personalities that the Western Civilization based upon; From the Epicure to Montaigne, from Plautus to Cervantes, from Horace to Descartes contemplated their praised virtues - as opposed to all things, and by virtue of imperfect moral conduct. They have presented innumerable philosophical, historical and literary repertoires to humanity. Thus, some like to “Praise the Folly” like Erasmus while others such as La Bruyere pondered over the types and causality of passions. Although satirical and humorous, one of the typologies studied in this literary accumulation is the Ungenerous character. For this reason, besides the passions that constitutes the basis of human behaviors in Western Literature, there are many products in which the themes related to the mischievous and ungenerous characters that we aim to examine are studied.Plautus, who was among the first and successful examples of the genre of humor in Latin literature, worked on the stingy figure in his humorous works such as Amphitruo, Ölmek, İkizler, Urgan, Eşekler. He also devoted his comic book Ölmek only to the typology of hasis. Terentius, who made a name for himself with his humorous works among the Western classics, also featured this character in his work called Kaynanalar and was considered a humorous qualification. Othello, Shakespeare, is considered one of the most distinguished playwrights in the world. Stendhal's Red and Black can be mentioned among the outstanding books of Western literature that presents the comedy side of the typology to the reader. In addition to all these works, the most important work specially published in Western literature in this field is undoubtedly Moliere’s original name, L'Avare, (Ungenerous). Since this aforesaid work is the most comprehensive work in this field is among the classics of Western literature, the main sources of our work have been identified as the Miser of Moliere and the Buhalâ of Jahiz.