Halide Edib Adıvar is an author who contributed to the Turkish Independence War with her literary works. In this study, the depictions of “we” and “others” that she made in her novel, The Shirt of Flame, which is one of her most famous novels, are examined. The “self and others” theory is a theory used by Edward Said for orientalists to explain the negative thoughts of Westerners towards Easterners. In The Shirt of Flame, which was written long before Said’s theory, the theory appears in a different way in line with the canonical discourse. In the novel, the pro-freedom Turks are described as “we”, the Ottoman administration that betrayed the Turks, and the enemies of Turks as “others”. The Turkish nation is described as a great, brave, courageous, and fearless nation in the novel. Minorities such as Greeks and Armenians, who lived in the Ottoman Empire and stood by the invaders against the Turks, are among the “others” because they are portrayed as torturers and murderers. The Ottoman administration is also in the group of “others” because they also cooperate with the enemies of Turks and betray the Turkish nation. In this study, the adaptation of Edward Said’s “self and others” theory by Halide Edib Adıvar for Turks in the novel, The Shirt of Flame is analysed based on the examples in the novel, using the document analysis method.

Halide Edib Adıvar, The Shirt of Flame, canonical discourse, orientalism, “self and others” theory.