One of the areas of questioning triggered by westernization in our society is that of women. The necessity of women's place and identity in society in this new period has been discussed in many works. While some literary works emphasize women and their identities, other literary works fictionalize unrelated subjects while still retaining a female identity. One of Halide Edip's significant books, Handan, exemplifies the understanding of the ideal woman. Handan is the kind of person who carries traditional understandings with her while having received a modern education and continuing her education intellectually. Besides Handan, other female characters in the novel are sometimes in the same frame as Handan and sometimes in the opposite frame of Handan. Although the protagonist in the novel "Mesihpaşa İmamı" is a man, the first spark that causes the inner transformation of this character in the novel is Hediye, a woman. And, other women in the book with their traditional identities play a significant role in the story with their spiritual outlooks, familial roles, and attitudes about strong-willed males. Among them, Gülsüm is a type who was raised with a traditional understanding, who confronted us with worthlessness at the beginning of the novel, and who was positioned in a completely different place by both her husband and her environment with the spiritual change she went through at the end of the novel. In this study, female characters in both novels are discussed in terms of female identity.

Novel, Mesihpaşa İmamı, Handan, woman, transformation.