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garnetbutterflysblog · 7 months

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Madonna-Whore Complex: Mahidevran & Hürrem

While I’m sure anyone who reads this post has some idea of what the Madonna-Whore complex is, I am going to give a definition regarding it just to be thorough. Essentially, the Madonna-Whore complex is the idea that people will attempt to categorize women into two categories: the sacred (Madonna) and the profane (the Whore). The Madonna is admired and respected by all yet is not sexually desired while the Whore is deemed vulgar and unworthy of respect but is sexually desirable.

I do believe Magnificent Century did attempt to subvert this but failed to do enough to successfully undermine the complex in their audience. The show’s main attempt to subvert the Madonna-Whore complex by establishing Hürrem as an underdog. To give credit where it’s due, I will list their attempts to do so.

Out of the two women, the audience meets Hürrem (then known as Aleksandra) first and is given her backstory immediately to make her more sympathetic.

Mahidevran’s background is mostly left unexplored with the only exception being that it is established she has been Süleyman’s favorite for some time despite attempts from others to take her place.

It is quickly established that Süleyman has little to no romantic/sexual interest in Mahidevran. (I believe this point may have backfired some as part of the Madonna is her undesirability as a sexual figure)

Hürrem's status as the underdog is further established when Hafsa is led to interfere and send Mahidevran to the sultan’s chambers in Hürrem’s place once Daye Hatun relays Hürrem and Maria’s conversation out-of-context.

Hürrem is unfairly imprisoned for disrespecting Mahidevran after being goaded into a fight (where, in a fit of irony, Mahidevran refuses to respect that Süleyman has re-named Aleksandra Hürrem). Hürrem is denied food and water during her imprisonment which is implied to last at least long enough to cause dehydration (24 to 48 hours is my guess) and which would’ve lasted longer if Süleyman hadn’t intervened.

After being severely beaten by Mahidevran, Hürrem is denied appropriate medical care by the harem staff in order to protect Mahidevran until Süleyman intervenes.

An attempt is made to marry off Hürrem behind Süleyman’s back in the interest of protecting Mahidevran and Hafsa’s anger towards Süleyman’s intervention on Hürrem's behalf.

Hürrem almost loses her life and that of her unborn child’s when she is poisoned by Mahidevran and then is subject to psychological manipulation by Hafsa to protect Mahidevran.

While Hürrem is heavily pregnant, Hürrem’s attendant (Gülnihal) is taken away from her side by Ibrahim. Hafsa’s reaction to this is one of approval despite the danger this ended up posing to her unborn grandchild.

After the birth of Mehmet, Hafsa throws undeniably classist insults against Hürrem, further establishing the latter as the underdog.

After Hürrem slaps Gülnihal for sleeping with the sultan, Hafsa threatens to remove Mehmet from his mother despite having advocated for Mahidevran to remain with Mustafa on two separate occasions. One of those occasions endangered the lives of two dynasty members- the unborn Mehmet and the Sultan himself.

Hürrem is denied her title as the mother of şehzade after the birth of her son. She is referred to as Hürrem Hatun, the title of a favorite, even after Mihrimah and her second şehzade, Selim are born.

Hafsa acts on incredibly circumstantial evidence against Hürrem after Ayse Hatun is murdered. Hafsa omits that this evidence is circumstantial when speaking with Süleyman. This results in Hürrem being unfairly separated from her son, Mehmet and exiled to the Old Palace.

During Hürrem’s time in exile, it is made clear that Mahidevran’s troubles are far from over as she worries over Gülfem being summoned by the Sultan.

In return for being exonerated, Hürrem is forced to apologize to Mahidevran, who has attempted to kill her twice.

It is mentioned once or twice that Gülfem was Süleyman’s first favorite and gave him a son. It is further implied that Mahidevran took her place.

Yet apparently establishing Hürrem as the underdog and establishing that Süleyman no longer had any interest in Mahidevran was not enough to subvert the Madonna-Whore complex as many in the audience viewed Hürrem as a “homewrecker” and “the other woman” in this scenario. I propose this is because the show is making a clear attempt to cast the characters as complex and thus the audience is given reason to sympathize with Mahidevran as well. She suffers a miscarriage and admits she hasn’t been struggling to conceive these last several years (casting her as the wronged woman whose fault (infertility) is beyond her control in this scenario). So what could the show have done differently in order to preserve sympathy for Mahidevran while also ensuring that most audience members would not apply the Madonna-whore complex to the situation the show presents? {the one is bold requires less re-structuring of the show and thus might be the easiest way to do so}

The show could have utilized the one son per concubine rule as would be found historically. Mahidevran would have the sympathy of the viewers for being in love with Süleyman but the fact the system requires this would exonerate Hürrem (hopefully) of wrong-doing.

An impartial Hafsa or at least, a Hafsa who overlooks her personal dislike for Hürrem for protocol and tradition, ensuring she is treated as the mother of a prince. With Hafsa insisting both Mahidevran and Hürrem be respected as their positions demand, there would be one less person whose actions can be interpreted as applying the Madonna-whore complex to Mahidevran and Hürrem in-universe.

Mahidevran not having the Haseki Sultan title might show a more equal playing field (and give Hürrem back her historical achievement).

Allow Hafsa to be angry at Mahidevran after the poisoning incident (but still advocating for her to remain for Mustafa’s benefit). Hafsa’s and Ibrahim's attempts to brush this under the rug implies that the Madonna-Whore complex is somewhat justified. (IT ISN'T)

Emphasizing Gülfem and Mahidevran’s history. Let the audience see the cycle and that the blame for both Mahidevran and Gülfem's pain falls on Süleyman. I believe this could happen in various ways.

Hürrem is often told that she will suffer what Mahidevran did (Parallel 1, 2, 3) by Mahidevran and other people. How difficult would it be for Gülfem to confront Mahidevran in a similar manner? I don’t think it would be out of character for Gülfem to remark that everything beautiful has its end and Mahidevran needs to accept that (Parallel 4).

Hatice’s moment where she defends Hürrem to Mahidevran could also be utilized to this effect. Hatice could point out that she never treated Mahidevran unfairly despite the fact Mahidevran was Gülfem's Hürrem.

Or allow Gülfem to be Hürrem’s friend as historically accurate. She can still comfort Mahidevran when Hürrem is tactless or goes too far, but at least have Gülfem be openly accepting of Hürrem as this is part of the cycle to her.

The parallels are linked to their creator, the lovely @awkward-sultana. I would love feedback on this so I'm tagging @shivrcys, @starbabe569, @mc-critical and @redxluna for their opinions on if the show successfully subverted the trope enough to their liking and to see if they have their own suggestions.

#magnificent century #muhteşem yüzyıl #hürrem sultan #hurrem sultan #mahidevran sultan #suleiman the magnificent #hafsa sultan #sultan süleyman

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45egeli45 · 5 years

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OSMANLI SULTANLARININ ANNELERİ VE KÖKENLERİ

1. I. Osman Gazi - annesi ve kökenine dair kanıt yok

2. I. Orhan Gazi - annesi Malhun sultan - Kökenine dair kanıt yok

3. I. Murat Han - annesi; Bizanlı Rum Horofira (Nilüfer hatun)

4. I. Beyazıt Han - annesi; Bulgar Marya (Gülçiçek)

5. I. Mehmet Han - annesi; Bulgar Olga

6. II. Murat Han - annesi; Veronika yada Emine sultan

7. II. Mehmet Han (Fatih Sultan) - annesi; Sırp Despina

8. II. Beyazıt Han - annesi;Arnavut veya Sırp Kornelya (Gülbahar sultan)

9. I. Selim (Yavuz Sultan) - annesi; Beti, Anita, Suzi, Liliana, Katherin, Nina, Martha,

Gülbahar, Ayşe ve Hafsa isimleri zikrediliyor - Gerçek annesi ve kökeni tam bilinmiyor.

10. I. Kanuni Sultan Süleyman - annesi; Polonya Yahudisi Helga (Hafsa)

11. II. Selim Han - annesi; Ukraynalı Roxelana (Hürrem sultan)

12. III.Murat Han - annesi; Yahudi Rasel (Nurbanu sultan)

13. III.Mehmet Han - annesi; Venedikli Bafo (Safiye sultan)

14. I. Ahmet Han - annesi; Yunanlı Helen (Handan sultan)

15. I. Mustafa Han - annesi; Abaza Fuldane Sultan

16. II. Osman Han - annesi; Evdoksia (Mahfiruz sultan)

17. IV. Murat Han - annesi; Yunanlı Anastasya (Kösem sultan)

18. I. İbrahim Han - annesi; (Mahpeyker Kösem sultan)

19. IV. Mehmet - annesi; Rus Nadya (Turhan sultan)

20. II. Süleyman Han - annesi; Sırp Katrin (Dilasub sultan)

21. II. Ahmet Han - annesi; Polonya Yahudisi Eva (Hatice sultan)

22. II. Mustafa Han - annesi; Rum Evemia (Emetullah Rabia Gülnuş sultan)

23. III. Ahmet Han - annesi; Rum Evemia (Emetullah Rabia Gülnuş sultan)

24. I. Mahmut Han - annesi; Aleksandra (Saliha sultan)

25. III. Osman Han - annesi; Sırp Mari (Şehsuvar sultan)

26. III Mustafa Han - annesi; Fransız Janet (Mihrişah sultan)

27. I. Abdulhamit Han - annesi; Fransız Sermi sultan)

28. III.Selim Han - annesi; Cenevizli Agnes (Mihrişah sultan)

29. IV. Mustafa Han - annesi; Bulgar Sonya (Sineperver sultan)

30. II. Mahmut - annesi; Fransız Rivery (Nakşidil sultan)

31. I.Abdulmecit Han - annesi; Gürcü Yahudisi Suzi (Bezm-i Alem sultan)

32. I. Abdulaziz Han - annesi; Roman Besime (Pertevniyal sultan)

33. V. Murat Han - annesi; Fransız Vilma (Şevkefsa sultan)

34. II. Abdulhamit Han - annesi; Ermeni Virjin (Tirimüjgan)

35. V. Mehmet - annesi; Arnavut Sofi (Gülcemal sultan)

36. VI. Mehmet Vahdettin Han - annesi; Çerkes Henriet (Gülistan sultan)

Görüldüğü üzere Osmanlı annelerinin içinde Türk falan yok. Türk tarihçileri Osmanlı padişah annelerinin gerçek adlarını değilde Hürrem Sultan gibi Türkçeleşmiş adlarını ön plana çıkartmaya çalışmış.

🌷🌷🌷💞🌷🌷🌷💞🌷🌷🌷🌷

KÖKENINIZ ÖNEMLİ DEĞIL BU GÜZEL ÜLKEMIZ VE INSANLARIMIZ IÇIN YAPTIĞINIZ ÖNEMLI

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