Peyami Safa’s Matmazel Noraliya’nın Koltuğu (Mademoiselle Noraliya’s Armchair) focuses on the spiritual crises, existential quests, and psychological turmoil experienced by an individual. At the center of the novel is Ferit, a young intellectual raised with a Western education and shaped by positivist thought. Ferit is driven into a crisis of meaning due to a psychological breakdown. In this process, he encounters a house on Büyükada and the armchair of Mademoiselle Noraliya, who once lived there. Although Noraliya is not physically present in the novel, the values she symbolizes—intuition, spirituality, and metaphysics—trigger Ferit’s inner transformation.

Among the prominent themes of the novel are unbelief, nihilism, existential void, the turn toward intuition and spirituality, inner searching, the crisis of intellectual identity, and the conflict between Eastern and Western systems of thought. Ferit’s transformation is not only personal but also a process of intellectual reconstruction.

Narrative and Structure

Rather than following a classical plot, the novel centers on the protagonist’s mental and spiritual transformation. Peyami Safa employs narrative techniques such as interior monologue, reflective transitions, and stream of consciousness. These methods effectively portray the character’s psychological processes in depth. The settings gain symbolic significance; in particular, the house on Büyükada and Noraliya’s armchair go beyond being physical objects and become metaphors for transformation.

Characters

• Ferit: An intellectual shaped by positivist thinking and Western education. His spiritual crisis drives him to seek meaning through metaphysical values.
• Mademoiselle Noraliya: Although she does not appear physically in the novel, her past presence, intellectual influence, and the values she embodies play a defining role in Ferit’s inner world.
• Mazhar, Suat, and Madame Maira: Other characters in Ferit’s life, each representing different lifestyles and philosophical orientations.

Philosophical and Intellectual Context

The novel parallels Peyami Safa’s own intellectual journey. The author draws attention to the inability of positivist reason to fill the individual’s inner void, suggesting that this emptiness can be compensated for through intuition, belief, and spirituality. In this regard, the work questions the relationship between individual transformation and cultural renewal. Influences such as Bergson’s intuitionism, Baudelaire’s mystical romanticism, and Eastern mysticism shape the novel’s intellectual foundation.

Literary Value and Interpretation

Matmazel Noraliya’nın Koltuğu is one of the key works in Turkish literature that blends psychological analysis with intellectual exploration. While it belongs to the tradition of psychological novels, it distinguishes itself through its mystical and metaphysical dimensions. The novel offers a multi-layered narrative that focuses on the relationship between the individual and society, cultural identity, and intellectual conflict.

Setting and Inner Reflection

According to Gökşen Yıldırım, the settings in the novel function not merely as backdrops but as reflections of the character’s inner state. The house on Büyükada and Noraliya’s armchair in particular serve as symbols of Ferit’s spiritual transformation. The interplay between space and time is fused with the character’s mental tensions, deepening the narrative.

Philosophical and Metaphysical Dimension

The novel explores the limitations of positivism. While Ferit cannot cope with unbelief, nihilism, and existential emptiness, he undergoes a transformation through intuition, mysticism, and metaphysical inclinations. The parallel between external space and inner world becomes a reflection of the modern individual’s existential fragmentation. In doing so, the novel opens a window onto the ideological and intellectual dimensions of personal transformation.