- While Marcel Proust was known to be an author of modern literature, Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar, on the other hand, was known to be an author suffering from ”the pains of modernisation”.
- Both Tanpınar and Proust were influenced by the French philosopher Henri Bergson. Tanpınar was made aware of Bergson by the prominent poet of Turkish literature, Yahya Kemal Beyatlı. However, Proust not only came to know Bergson from his works, but also by marrying his cousin.
- Proust committed all of his life to his masterpiece ‘In Search of Lost Time’, which was a seven-volume novel consisting of three thousand pages. Proust had begun to write his novel after the death of his mother in 1905 and was able to complete it in 17 years. On the other hand, Tanpınar has various poems, stories, novels and essays. Proust was influenced by people from his immediate surroundings for the characters in his novel while Tanpınar created his characters from his imagination.
- It is perceived that the protagonists in the novels of both Proust and Tanpınar are interested in the art of painting.
- Tanpınar, who is a member of the Society of Friends of Marcel Proust, says: “My conditions led me to literature”. Whilst, due to the health condition of Proust, his conditions has caused literature to find him.
- The French used by Proust was one of the languages Tanpınar used and was influenced by. Although partially, Proust´s novel was translated into Turkish in 1942. On the other hand, Tanpınar´s novel ‘A Mind of Peace’ was translated into French in the year 2014.
- From music to literature, Tanpınar is considered both an easterner and westerner. Whilst Proust is only a westerner and he only has Paris, Tanpınar has his ‘Five Cities’…
- Proust´s novel begins with the line, “I slept early for a long time” and it is exactly that moment of falling asleep in which he takes his inspiration from. Whilst the writings of Tanpınar are the products of “sleepless” nights and they are like a dream seen in the state of being awake. Proust claims to have a poor memory and keeps a record of everything including the number of coughs he endures. Whilst, remembering for Tanpınar is another opportunity for constructing and while he remembers these “connotations”, he sets off on a pursuit of other topics.
- On Proust´s return to his memoirs, his “source of inspiration” becomes a French cake called madlen. While Tanpınar´s is from a childhood memory in Mosul, the walks he took alone on the shores of Antalya, a wall from the times of the second Sultan of the Ottoman Empire in Bursa, Orhan Gazi and an old plane tree the same age as himself.
- Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar had experienced economic difficulties throughout his life; working as a teacher and academic. Although he never married, he also financially assisted his relatives. On the other hand, Proust never experienced any form of economic difficulty.
10 Differences Between Proust and Tanpınar
WHEN ONE TAKES A LOOK AT FRENCH AUTHOR MARCEL PROUST FROM THE CONCEPTS OF CITY, TIME AND MEMORY, HE IS SIMILAR TO THE PROJECTION OF AHMET HAMDI TANPINAR IN THE WEST. WE HAVE COMPARED THESE TWO PROMINENT AUTHORS OF WORLD LITERATURE AND HERE ARE THE INTERESTING FACTS…
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