Focus 2004.tif 14 Focus on German Studies borders, in Die ken "'[illt and temporal borders in Good B)'l unin are the nssures that provide the leverage with which official histories can be cracked open. The search for difference and 'otherness' dH:n becomes rhe key to a fundamental shifl in historical analysis of the fall of the Wall. More generally, the idea of history as film is made productive by exposing the implications of the Deleuzian event. Within the logic of the evem, the purpose of film analysis is to explore borderlines, examining momems where uniform meaning is impossible. History as film, then, allows us [0 expose (he unceasing contestation berween narrative lOrality on the one hand and multiplicity on [he other. Univerri!J 0/ California, Berkel<;y Works Cited Au dit MDlm fit! . 50 SllImll", ~ tU4 IV'tlt //triil/dultn. OiL Hans-Hermann H~ft.l~. Icestorm, 1999. Anderson, Benedict. bllagilltd COINmIJnititS: RtjkCtiOIU on the On gin alld Spread oj Nationalimt. London: Verso, t 991. Barthes, Roland. Introduction w the Struc/ural Ana!Jsis oj Narrative. 13inningham: University of Bimungham Press, 1966. 13habha, Honu. The UxatitJll oj CU"Jm. London: Rouuedge, 1994. Colw~ll, C. "Dd~uze, Sense and me Event of AIDS." Posll11odmIGllllm;. 6.2 (1996): 37. Chrom'/e dec jj;7mdt: Teill. oir. Wolfgang Drescher. DEFA, 1994. Deleuze, Gilles.. Cililma 2: tm tillle intagt. Minneapolis: U of Minnesor:a P, 1989. -. Tbt Logico] Smse. New York: Columbia UP, 1990. Die km Mitte. Dir. Him Secrer!. HFF Munchen, \998. Frege, Gottlob. The mgt" Rtadtr. Oxfmd: Blackwell Publishers, 1997. Fun! lI:7«htn im HtrlJ.1l. Dir. G. Mascolo. SP iEGEL-TV-Dokumemation, 1992. Good B)'t' L.mi". Dir. Wolfgang l3ecker. X Filme, 2002. - .25 June 2004 http:/ / www.79qmDDR.de. Janusch, Konrad. The R.J..sh to German Uni!). Oxford: Oxford UP, 1994. Rodowick, David Norman. Gillu DtItMZt~ Tillie Mathine. Durham: Duke UP, 1997. Vonderau, Patrick. "Film as History/ Hislory as Film:' Gtmmskaper/ Gtllltinschajim. (1989): 1. 'Zungen,' Borders and Border Crossings: Ozdamar's M Jfttel"{!mge as an Attempt to Deal widl d,e Effec,s of G lobaliza tion Sonja EUen K10cke T he fac t that Emine Sevgi Ozdamar was thi!: MrS[ non-native speaker of German to receive the Ingeuorg Bachmann Prize win 1991 has twO implications. It can ccnainly be read as an increase in the interest about literature written in German by non·native speakers of German; simuhanl::ously, it can hI:: viewed as :a rl::action to globalization. Though 'globalization' seems to be the buzzword of the 1990s and today, it is not really new, "but rather on ly a matter o f scale and speed - old hegemonies in new forms. Globalization can be seen as an agent of imperialism and an updated version of the modernization which was direCted th rough colonial conquest" (Amandiume 90). Based on (Ilis idea J will argue that in Ozdama r's 1I" MllerzulIge globalization and its effects manifest themselves within such tropes as migration, political syS[ems, and most imporrantly language. I After a short introduction to globalization, I will demonstrate how Ozdamar deals with the problematic inferences as well as the chances implied in globalization specifically for migrant women, who afe caught in Ihe 1W0foid peril of being female and a foreigner. Globalization is a vast and complex field that has been d iscussed extensively and bas a wide range of meanings. I t usually suess~s (he international spread of \'«estern economic, socia~ and policica1 methods of interaction, norms, and values. Moreover, a focus on cultural and sociological aspects of globalizarion can be d etected. !t o ften acuminates in the notioo of a "McDonaldizacion' of culturc. l James t..-li nclman's explanation goes fu n her [han this and helps to dearly define it: The manifestatioos of globalization [ ... J include t.he spatial reorganization o f production, [ ... 1 massive transfers of population within the South 16 Foal! on German SIHdiet as well as from th e South and the East {O the West, resultant con flicts between immigrant and established communities [ ... ], and emerging world-wide preference for democracy. A rubric for varied phenomena, me concept of globalization interrelates multiple levels of analysis: economics, policics, culture and ideology. (qrd. in fvlarchand and Runyan 4) This definition goes beyond common interpretations that p~ima r~y tcnd (0 focus on the economy and/o r rhe nature of the relauonship between markets and the state. For the purpose of this paper, the huge migration primarily from the South to the North,. and the effects on social, culrural, racial, ethnic, gender, and nauonal identities roles, and rclations are especially significant; they point to both the 'dangers and the chances accompanying globalization. Feminist critics of globalization, for example ~(archand and Runyan, have demonstrated that globalization tends to stren~hen exlsting gender inequalities instead of overcoming [~em. t-ligram women tend to remain in poorly paid jobs, WIthout career opportunities and lacking access to social services. At the same time, the rise in the migration of women is unprecedented and onc of the major impacts of global resuucruring (r- Iarchand and Runyan 17). Ozdamar, however, estlblishes scenarios that can lead [Q a thiJ:d possibiliry that goes beyond the binary opposi~~n between complete freedom and striCt gender ine~ualities. A,ddltJonally, she constructs a \-1sion of culnlcal exchange Ul a globabzed world. She does sO through (he trope of migration and the tension between the German and the Turkish heritage, which is explicicly srated in her handling of language. Ozdamar's heroine is genuinely troubled by the loss of her beloved mo ther tongue. The book sta rtS with her claim to Turkish as her language, bm it is done in German and simultaneously refers to a Turkish idiom: «In meiner Spracbe heillt Zunge: Spcache" ~ [Z 9). This identification with Turkish is fur(he~ emphas~zed when she Slates that "Zunge hat keine Knochen, wohin man SIC d reht, dreht sic sich dor thin" (t..,[Z 9). Thus, the fi.rst tv.·o sentences of [he book underscore the impo[[ance language is granted, and point to what 'Zungen' Borders and Border Crossings 17 Azadc Seyhan calls "acrobatic skill of expression" (244). She points Out that "Zunge drehen f •.. J is tbe uanslation of a Turkish idiom, dili dijllInek, often used in the negative as dilim diinII1N)'Or, meaning I can't pronounce o r ar ticulate something" (244). Since Ozdamar employs this expression in the positive, she emphasizes thaI her expression in her mother tongue would be in finite. This explains the frustration and confusion about (he loss of her native language, her repeated: 'Wenn ich nur wiisste, wann ich meine Mun erzunge verloren habe" (MZ 9). The narrator establishes a siruation in which she claims a language to be hers, even though she no longer h as a sufficient command over it. At lhe same time, she is able to use a foreign language very artistically, without claiming this language as hers. Thus, on the first page of the story collection, Ozdamar's heroine uses language and the d iscussion about language to establish her personal conflict about her identity. In that context, it is especially relevant that she remembers her mother's semences spoken in her mother tongue, Tmk.ish, only in German: "Dieser Satze f ... 1 erinnere ich mich auch nur so, aJs ob sic diese Woner in Deutsch gesagt hatte" (MZ 11 ). The Western/German language has taken over, has robbed her of someliling that had been significantly hers aU her life. Therefore, the narrator expresses that deficit by repeatedly asking fm rhe time and place of th e language loss, e.g. "''(Ienn ich nur wlissre, in welchem Moment ich meine Mutter.mnge verloren habe" (1\"Z II; c£ MZ 9, 12, 13). The loss of la nguage is emphasized by the way it is described. 111is mother tOngue appears (Q be something imaginary or floating, subject (Q change and chance: "Noch ein WOf( in meinc[ Murrerzunge kam mal im T raum vorbei" ~{Z (2). The narrator consequen cly has no conuol over this language. as it belongs rather lO Ihe realm of dreams than to reality. I f her mother tongue manages to intrude into the actual German world, it is often linked 10 speed, e.g. in clle dining-car of the train racing through the country (J\'IZ 12). T hus, the issue of dIe mother lOngue is associated with the world of the imaginar)', suggesting a denial of its existence: it simply does not fit in to the fast-paced world o f everyday life in Germany. In this context it is su:iking that Ozdamar uses Turkish idioms in her German writing, not only {he "Zunge drehen," but also, for example, in ber description of her first Arabic lesson with fhni 18 Foau on German Studies Abdullah. After they have talked about their past, their reasons fo r mignu.ion [ 0 Germany. and about the seven brorher~ lh~ '~aster' lost In a war, the author uses a figmc in German. which IS alien 10 the German language: " Eine Weile die tOtcO sieben BrLider saRen zwischen uns in diesem halbschlafenden Moscheeschaftzimmer" (GZ 16). NO( only does she overthrow the German, senteo:c struCLUre, but she uses very strong images thal have their roots 10 Turkish o r Arabic., nOt in German. Thereby, she emphasizes o nc of the chances implied in globalization: the mutual exertio n of inAuence on each omer's languages. Specifically, she demonstrates how Tudcish or Arabic can claim and retain distinctive fea tu res also in German , and how they can meet the challenge of being absorbed in a process of assimilation. Simultaneously, Ozdamar asks her (German) reade£"S to dive into this other system of cultural signification. In order to comprehend Ozdamar's text. one needs to be willing to delve into it on a multirude of levels: historical, polilical, social, and cultural. Thus the author establishes a vision of a multicultural society, which, according to Seyhan, implies "nOt knowing the other and willingness to learn about the other" (246). This should be read as an anempt to deconstruct the homogenization of culture that accompanies globalization. Ozdamar refuses to participate III a globauzed jeans_T_shirt_and_sneakers_culrure; radu:r, she au~mpts to retain her Turkish herirage while writing in German. And It IS exactly this cultural mix of Turkish/Arabic and German thaL characterizes her prose. As Jankowsky pointS out, it therefore seems to be decisive to read "for 'intersections' of cui rural inAuences from Turkey and Germany" (263). These 'intersections' signify spheres in which the culrures meet, and in which borders are crossed. Therefore, the crossing of the stale line berween East and \'<'es t Germa ny In "Grol'\v,Herzunge" acquires a l1lulcirude of meanings. Ozdamar asks us to ignore borders. so ( 0 speak, as he~ protagonist does wh~n she exclaIms that the same nli n is falling 10 East and West Berlin. The overcoming of limitalion, is consuucted as a namral process. It emphasizes the need to accept this kind o f border-crossing as normal both on the side of the Germans as weU as the Turklsh or Arabs, assuming they want to learn fwm different cultures. l11Us, according to Ackermann, "what is advoca(ed is not integration, t.he Zungen,' Borders and Border Crosslllgs 19 absorption of foreign elements in the German sphere, hut a meeting o f the cultures, a crossing of the borders" (249). Such a meeling o f culrures and overcoming of borders seems [Q be a prerequisite for a fruilful collaboration in a globalized world. These border cwssings correspond with me trope of migration III AlNltm{Mnge. Particularly in this coUeccion of stories., where Ozdamar describes both the fact and its effecl, migra uon should be viewed as an immediate effect of globalizacion. The presence of Arabs in Germany appea rs to be taken for granted, and they mainly become visible on me margins of sociery, especially in their own caf~: "Negercafe, Amber zu Cast, die Hocker sind ZlI hoch, Flif3e wackeLn" (MZ 9). The description of the place with stools tlla[ are tOO high and that have wobbling legs underscores th e Lnsecure, shaky, and insignificant position o f Arabs in German society. In "Grof3valer.wnge," Ozcl amar describes her heroine looking for Arabs on the ,eKudamm" (GZ 21, 45),1 visiung an Ara bian restaurant (GZ 21), and looking for Arabian names on the doors o f Berlin apartments (GZ 22). AU of that is merely descobed, no t appraised. This non-appraisal signifies the process she finds herself in, one in which she attempts to define a space where Arabic SIgns can acquire meaning within the German conrext. Turkey, on the other hand, offers only one posillve image that ca n be found in the family, speCifi cally in the mOther (r.. IZ 9), and the grandmother, \\'ho is associated WIth sitting "10 emem Oiu"an" (MZ 13) and with relaxauon. At the same rime, Ozdamar hints althe difficulties with he r home country: her heroine has to go to Turkey quietly and carefuUy; "Ceh auf Fingerspitzen in die Turkei" ~'Z 13). The choice of words alludes to the German "auf Zehcnspazen gehen," which implies creadng as little noise as pOSSible on one's tocs in mder not to disturb an yone else or draw attention 10 one's self. The 'Fingerspi£zen' funher accenru:lle this aspect: fingers produce even less sound than toes., and are therefore especially ulconsplCUOUS. Also, they are all the more vulnerable and consequently more likely LO be in jured than roes, thus emphasizing the herome's vulnerability. Simult2neoosly, Ozdamar's dlOice of words is renUnlscent of the Germa n "mit Fingerspitzengefiihl," which points 10 the na.rrator's awareness of the necessity to move carefully in "rurkey. Therefore, her rhetoric se rves a double purpose: it elaborates on tht: narr:lIor, 20 F()(UJ on German Sludiu both on her character and o n the limitations she hnds herself surrounded by. And at the same time, the fact that she has toO mo.ve so cautiously in her home country accentuates her difficultles with Turkey's biased and brmal political system. In ho th stories, mis system is negatively evaluated: the narrator describes the arbitrary employmen t of the dearn penalty, terlor, and the absence of justice, paroculady for anybody (he government associa tes wim communism (MZ 10, 12). The police depic ted in Ozdamat's stories do nor serve the citizens of the countr y, but rather arrest them unwan:amed and hand them over to judges who sentence them to death p resumably without legal cause. In "to[ultCrwnge," Ozdamar's narrator recalls the incident of a young alleged anarchist who was hanged (r'-'fZ 10-11); in "GroBvaterzunge," she describes how she has lost her friends [0 terror and how they feared for their lives: " lch sagte: 'So viele tme Freunde habe ich hinter nm in meincm Land gelassen. Siebzehnjahrige haben sie aufgehangt, ich bin fur meine Regierung Kommunistin'" (MZ 16~. Through her repeated use of possessive pronouns, Ozdan~a[s he[Qine suesses hcr affiliation with Turkey. Even though he r actlons against the regime put her in danger and cause a great deal of loss and pain, she refuses to renounce her home counuy. . The omnipresent {error is stressed further when her ~rab~c teacher Ibni Abdullah talks about his seven brothers who d ied III a war (GZ 15); it is su ongly cont.rasted with the master's view of democracy in Wes.t Germany: " Hier in Deutschland ~ber .bnn ich in den Park gehen und meine t-. leinung lau~ sagen, ,Iller &1~t. es De mokratie" (GZ 16). According to James i\,[judma~s defi.muon o f globalization quoted before, sui~g ~or demo~rac~ IS conslde~ed to be as much a signifier fo r globalizanon as mlgraoon. By telling srories o f those who su ffered under the regime and lhercfore left Turkey, e.g. Iboi Abdullah and the narrator, Ozdamar indica~es in her wIiting that the lack o f democracy in countries like :urkey l S one.of me reasons for migration. Still, she refrains from a sunple adaplau.on of (hal view, bUl includes hcr critique o f the capitalist syslem, winch is exp ressed by her heroine in Allitterzllnlf". 'Und wieviele Mal sind Sic in diesen neun Jahren in den Park gegangen und haben lhre Meinung laut gesagl, das Gcld hat keine .Angst hie~, e~ hat Zah~e" (GZ 16). Here, [he heroine unmasks Ibm AbduUah s bIzarre nonon 'Zungen: Borders and Border Crossings 21 of democracy: as a Turk Jiving in Germany, he does nOt have full civil rights. For example, he cannot participate in affairs o f the country by exercising a righ t to vote. Whereas Ibni Abd ullah seems [Q valuc the possibili ty to exp ress his opinions publicly, Ozdamar's heroine focuses on the faces and the limitations o f that o ppo rtuni ty. She neimer questions lhe value of a democracy, nor does she reAect on the origin for her own desire to engage in politics frcely. Rather, she expresses her reservations about the teacher's pecuLiar view o f democracy and shifts the center of attention 011(0 capitalism and mo ney, which is po rtrayed as both powerful and threalcning. By employing the image of money that has teeth, she poi ms to the connection between Weste m democracy and capita lism: both are concerned with making money, which in turn has I.he ability to cat one alive. This implied danger in ca pitalist Germany leads to the narrator's difficult siruation: she cannot completely identify with either Turkey Or Germany; rather she appears to be lost and susceptible: "Jeh bin ein Vogel. GeA ogen aus meinem Land, ich war auf den Auwbahnen am Rande der xy-ungelosten Stadte" (GZ 27). The use of the possessive pronoun 'meinem' linked to her counuy of oligin again poi nts to the hetoine's identification with Turkey. She st.ill claims it, even though she was forccd to leave it for political reasons. The image o f rhe bird is also employed ambiguously: at first, ,his animal recalls freedom and the opportunity to move without restraint. But in connection with the next semcnce, it already suggests trouble and menace. TIle 'geAogen' aUudes [0 the minimal pair 'gcAohen.' This bird had to leave the country, thus alluding to the no tion o f the German 'vogelfrei,' wh ich implies that she is an oUlla\\' in hCr country and has lost her rights as a citizen. Thus, Ozdamar refers to the predicament of the migrant who cannOt feel protected any\.\'hcrc in a globalized world. Neither Turkey nor Germany, where the narrato r presumably does nOt possess citizenship accompa nied by civil rights, offers conditions enabling her to live freely. Simultaneously, the constellation o f words very artistically emphasizes lhe resulting vulnerabili ty. Her helplessness is accentuated by her position on the 'AutObahn: which indicates (he dange r of cars HlllOing ove r her at high speed and injl1ring or eVen killing her. The "xy-ungeJosce Stadce," referring to the greate r German cities full o f unsolved crimes, clearly 22 Follis on German StudieJ und erscore the feeling of imminent danger and threa[.~ Even though Germany is obviously less dangerous fo r her than Tllrkey, the hero ine feels inrimidatecl and insecure in (he culture unknown to heL As a single woman it is especially hard to find a suitable role under rhese cucumsmnces. Thus Ozdamar idenufies the dilemma speci fi cally affecting women who try to define dlCir space in a globalized world, caught between different co.INtes. She consequently esmblishes the grounds fo r a deconsu ucuon o f [he traditional roles o f wo men by describing a Turkish woman, bo th in h er country o f o rigin and in Germany. T his woman delibe~tely uies to fall sha n o f bodl Turkish and German society'S expecr3uons in an 3rrcmpr to meet her own potencial. According to Brinker­ Gabler and Smith, this is not unusual for a multicultural text t~at then can "become a site of social intetvention in the opp ressive practices against women in their ho me and host cultures" (2 1). Ozdamar's protagonist is described in Turkey: she works f? r the " Kommunistische Commune" and is treated badly by the police for her behavior as a woman and h er conduct with men (!\1Z 13). She has to leave her country precisely because she is not willing to live a li fe acceptable fo r traditional society. She stresses that she was ~e o nly female working at the communist ceOle r, thereby emp haslzmg both her vulnerability but also h er insistence on being different from others, i.e. she did nOt get m arried to raise children. Contrary ( 0 traditional gender positions, she became poli tically involved , thereby embracing a more Westernized no tion o f femininity.. . In "Gro l1varer . .mnge," however, the narra(Qr IS presented m Germany and explicitly situated in a transitional Hage between modernity and tradition. This Turkish wo man arrived alone,. and th is has significan t consequences since as a woman and a foreIgner she is twice as vuln erable. As Patricia Anne Simpson indica te~ : "The d ouble jeopardy, bQ[h female and fo reign, complicates the ~robl~m of establishing a stable self in the German context; o f acuculaung the relationship between me fa therland and the mo ther to ngue" (5.4). Ar times, Ozdamar's heroine longs to be part of one of the Turkish families in Bertin: " Ieh ging den arabischen Frauen mit Kopfriichern h imerher ihre schwangeren T ochter neben ih nen, ich wiU unler ihfe Rocke gehen, ganz klein sein, ich will ihre Tochter sein in NeukoJln" (GZ 2 1 ~22). Here, the narrator expresses her awareness o f the 'Z ungen,' Bo rders and Border Crossings 23 advanrages and d isadvantages accompanying the attachment with a Turkish family: o n the one hand, she would be protecled by the o th er family members, would nor be held respo nsible fo r herself and her actio ns any more, and could live as a child. Yet simul taneously she would be fo rced to adopt the lrad it.ional female role: maHY, become pregnant, and raise children. While O zdamac's h ero ine plays with those thoughts, it beco mes apparent that they can o nly be part of a p rocess she undergoes. Eventually, she will emerge as a fa irly stro ng and determined young woman. She is capable o f serving as a ro le model precisely beca use she also illus trates the difficulties she encounters as a co nsequen ce o f her refusal to follow th e traditional ptllhs o f life. 'The play with those two antipodal possibilities o f traditional fa mily life on the o ne hand, and rhe role o f the entirely independent woman on the other, offers the heroine a chance to define a third space fo r herself where she is not forced to renounce her heritage bm can alter it and thereby acquire mo re freedom than Turkish culture would traditionall y have granted her. An example fo r that strategy can be observed in her firm decision to learn Arabic. Going back to her Arabic roots signifies her awa reness o f her heredity; al the sa me time, she finds her 'Meister' herself. Tn the descrip tion o f the fi rst meeting with dlC master, the heroine's roots become as visible as her willingness to overcome the limitations implied in her anceslfy. She expla ins how [he sirualion would have been altered by the presence of her fathe r, but she does nOl o ffer an evaluation o f lhat scene: Wenn mein Vater mich in l hre l-liinde als Le hrling gebracht hane, hane er m.ieh in Ihre Hande gegeben und gesagr, 1a, Meisrer, ihr Pleisch geho n Ihnen , ihrc Knoch en mir, lehrc sie, wenn sie ihre Augen und Geh6r und ihr Her!. nielu aufmachr zu dem, \.vas Sie sagen, schlagen Sie, die Hand der schlagenden t.·(eis ter stamm[ aus clem Paradies, wo Sie schlagen, werden dart die Rosen bluhen.' (GZ 15) T he fa ther would have handed over the: rcspo nsibiliry for his 24 Focus on German Studiu daughter and hcr learning process. But as the ow~er of her body, he would simultaneously have relinquished pans of It as well. Wh~lc d~e bones, her framework or scaffolding so [0 speak, would rcm:un his. the Aesh would be [he master's. The reader has to wonder if wo."! heroine, [00, is willing to hand over her Aesh to the master. This sentence already foreshadows the sexual, very body_and.Resh_oriented love relationship in which th,e young woman and her teacher become engaged. Furthermore, It is striking that she emphasizes that hcr father w?uld have allowed the maSter to beat her, thereby highlighung lhe difficult female role within lhis culrural setting. Without offering any statement about her own attitude toward that possibilil}', she simply leIS her audience know that she is aware of the tradition. At the same time it becomes obvious that the heroine is in tile middle o f a process that has started with her denunciation of Turlcish conventions by m..igracing independently, thereby embracing a chance that the gl~b~zed world offers. Thus, it appears likely that she would nO{ be willing to allow anybody to chastise her, since her longing for independence has apparently staned long ago in Turkey. This may be read as an indIcatlon for the inAuence Westernization has already had on the heroine's counuy of origin: it had begun with Turkey's vast colonial hislOry, and was pursued in the 1920s with Atatiirk's reforms. Howeve r, in dus episode wirh her ArabiC master, the heroUle adapts to his world from the beginning. In her despente search for her Arabic rOOtS through the "GroRvaterwnge," she learns her new letters and slowly faUs in love \l,>1lh Ibni Abdullah, aU on his terms. From the start he defines the meaning of 'love' as weU as lhe conditions for thiS love relationship: " f ... ] das ist die Liebe, du wirst bei mit bleiben widersprich niche. mein GOtt, ieh will nichts ho ren, du bleibsr bei lcit, ich habe gemerkt, dan du Viele Schmerzen hast" (G Z 25). The master exclusively employs impera[]v~s dlC~cted at his pupil and lover, thus manifesting his idea of a relationship between unequal partners. He docs not tolerate objections, a::~ ~he a~cepts his terms and the role he assigns her as one of the I nnzeSSlllOen in Anbien" (GZ 23). Consequendy, she remains in his r~m in Wilmersdorf. Her submission to the world of lbe maSler culmlOales in her final inability to leave the room: "Ich konme aus diesem SchriftzLmmer nichl mehe raus" (GZ 26). Through the choice of 'Zungen,' Borders and Border Crossings 25 me modal 'konnen' it becomes unclear if he does not allow her to leave the room, or if she lacks the energy (0 get oU[ of it. The fact that she remains in the room even when he goes out docs not help to clarify the situation. Through me course of me slOry, she repe:lts (he sentence using the moda1 'konnen,' thus remaining in the realm of the established ambiguity: ,eEr ging weg, ich konnte weiler niclu raus aus dem Schriftzimmer" (GZ 40). It appears thai the sea rch for her Arabic ancestry through language has, one way or the other, Immobihzed her. This ambiguity is characteristic for her relationship with the 'Meister,' which is also described in terms of Jove and love-making. On the one hand one ,mght argue that Ozdama r employs the concept o f 'love' to mask lhe unequal power relations that exist pcr se between master and learne r, bUI also in the relationship the twO genders engage in. On Ihe other hand, her narratOr refers to the problematic nature o f love relationships and there fore demonstrates her awareness for what is going on between her and Ibni Abdullah: "Die Liebe 1St ein leichrer Vogel, setzt sich ldch t irgendwo hin, aber stein schwer auf" (GZ 36). Again, the meraphor of the bird is employed ambiguously. The tiny anima l evokes airi ness and ease, but also vio lability. Furthermore, it hints at volatility since it has the capability to move freely and at any time. Therefore, it becomes a metapho r fo r the problematic and multifarious relationship the narralOe and her teacher engage In: What started OUI as an easy roma nce for the young woman, rums OUt to weigh heavily on her 2nd complicates her life to a great extent. T hus, she conncClS fa lling in love with her teacher, whom she refers to as her 'GroRv,Her,' (GZ 46) with "Lebensunfiille erleben" (GZ 46). T illS reference to her g randfather indicates lh e pauiarchal StruCture of t.he love rela uonship, language, and culnlre. She evenrually ex penences Ibm Abduttah's ' love' as suffoa ting and sickening. It causes her pain (GZ 31-32), and she is under the impression thal his Arabic words which she longed to learn serve as wardens, which cause her fear (GZ 44). Her final departure from the room is of great relevance: "l ch warf jemandem den Schnftzimmerschliisscl in den I lof er macil1e die Tur auf. Ich ging wm trsten Mal aus dlesem Zlm~e r raus" (GZ 44). Again Ozdamar's aCCOllnt is vague: on the one hand lhe young \l,'Oman has a key in her room, but on the o lher hand 26 Fonu on Gtrman SlJllliu she is obviously unable to opcn the door from m,e inside. ~hus the decisi.on to use the key is hers, while at th e same ume she soB has to cdy o n anmhcr person to take ma( key and, ~[ee her fro m the roo~. This highlights the uncertainty o f the p OSlUo n she finds herself U1 as a single \1..'Oman and migrant in Germany: while ,she lon~ to ,be free and independent, she simultaneously em phaSizes the Imphed limitations and her dependence. Thus the reader ,becomes aware of the complicated situation the heroine is caught In as well as her struggle (0 define a space for herself. . . Nevertheless, leaving the room is highly s lg~lficant, and Ozdama r's protagonist su esses the impact o f tilLS event by . th . "Jeh war emphasizing the forty days she spent 1.11 e roon." . coau vierzig Tage im Schriftzimmer" (G Z 44). ThiS sym~1 IS ! revalent in the pan o f the Bible Christians refer to as the ?Id Testament " where the rOOts of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism can be loc'ared: Moses spent 40 days ~n l\'lo unl Sinal12nd Moses 24, 18); the Israeli tes speOl 40 years 10 the deseIl (4 s ~ Ioses 32, t3)~ and the Flood lasted fo r 40 days ( I" ~'lose~ 8, 6). rhus., one might suggest that the hero ine has locared a hyb rid space [hat those culrural realms have in common. Concurrently, the number forty generally indicates a space o f time which signifies change and ne,,:, beginnings, but a1so fhglu, expectatio n, and prepara non. Ozdam~r s heroine has prepared fo r fo rty days in Ibni ~bdullah's room; WIth the knowledge she has gained she also readied herself for a new starr. A[ the same time, her departure from lhe ro~m "~choes escape: fro m her master, but also fro m everything ArabiC. t herefo re, she throws her Arabic words o nto the Autobahn aftet the fo~ty days: "leh ging ( ... J in die Nahe der Autobahn. leh warf die Schnft~n auf die AUTobahn" (GZ 44). She allows German ca rs, r~presenong an . f -cl,y G erman culrure as well as globalized eco nomy, Icon 0 present d 'd .c m , nd .cus over her oogm' Furthermore, she eCI es to run over me UI '.' • to add up the Arabic people o n the 'Kudamm' ag~ln : but this orne she counts them bacl..-wa rd s, so [hat she can end WIth zer~ (GZ 45). The implications of her actions arc obvious: in the globalized world she lives in , characterized by the do minance o f Western culture and (he capitalist econo mic system , it is difficult to define .3 space for her where the Arabic language and me cuirure she has tried to embrace have a chance to survive. 'Zungen ' Borders and Bo rder Crossings 27 At the same time, in her description it is Wes t Berlin that affo rds dl C opporruniry to find her Ambic rOO lS. In "Grofivatc.rzunge" it is s tressed that only West G erma ny as a democracy o ffers the possibility to learn and speak ArabiC (GZ 16). O n thc surrace at least, it is no t the C2pitalist socicry, but Atatiirk who is responsi ble fo r the loss o f the Arabic heritage. While the pro tagonist cmphasizes her love (o r him, she regrets mat he introduced the Western alphabet imo Turkish and pro hibited the use o f the Arabic language: " Dleses Verbat 1st so, wie wenn die Halfte vo n meinem Kopf abgeschninen 1St. Alie N amen von meiner Familie sind arabisch: Fauna, Mustafa , Ali, Samra" (GZ 29). Ie appears thaI the protagonist not o nly loses her cultural heritage because of the do minant mainstream German culrure, but also because o f the \X'esternization o f Tutkish culture under AtaNrk. With the proclamation of the Republtc in 1923 and after the process o r nauo na! integra tion In the period between 1923 and 1928, the sub ject o f adopting a new alphabet became an issue of utmOSt impo rtance. I would argue that th is should be read as o ne of the fi rs t effects o f glObalizatio n o r WeSterlllzauon, since Atati.irk made the Turkish ado pt the Latin alphabet used in the Western \'Vorld. Thus, as Jankowsky points o ut, "O zdamar presents the colonializing inAuences that acco mpany hcr counuy's moderniza tio n 2nd o pelllng toward Western Europe" (266). For the p rOlagomst In MUlle't"nge that change signified rhe loss o f her hen t3gc rather than a benefit. Yet, th is sto ry IS not JUSt about an individua l, but sho uld be read in a larger context, in which the irony o f this globalized worl d becomes appa rent. On the one hand, the heroine needs co m igrare 1.0 a \'(/eslern country, G ermany, to learn Arabic and to find he r culmr:ll roots. O n the o thcr hand, in this globa lized wo rld, \X'estern culture is dominant to the ex tent tha t i[ is Virtually impossible fo [" another culture to survive wilho ut being assunilated. Il owevcr, the hero ine is brave enough to open herself up to a process o f find ing and defining a space fo r herself, even though It is "cry pain ful. The compeuuon o f cultures also plays a key rote 111 the mother. daughtcr relalionship in " t-,{un erzunge" and is emphasized by the mo mer's St2 tement about the loss o f ha ir: " D u has I die Hiilfte d t:.iner I-Iaace in Alamania gelassen" (MZ 9). ufe in Germany is associa ted wim loss: o f hair, feminini ty, and rite pas t. It changes the d aughter's atrirude and customs, since she is CUt o ff fro m her Turkish fa mily. 28 Foals 011 German SINdiu The loss of her "Turkish eyesight," which leads to the heroine's question "waWffi Istanbul so dllnkcl geworden ist" Cl'-1Z 9), further suesses tillS. Her mother provides the explanation: " Istanbul hatte imme.r diese Lichter, deine Augen sind an Alamanien-Lichter gewohnt" (MZ 9). Germany's bright tights have decreased. the daughrer's ability to see de;uly in Turkey. She I~~s been col~OIz~d by capnatis( society and as a result lost the ability to. iUncD<>.n In her own heritage. Whereas a.re of the difficulties adsing during the process of shaping a multicultural notion of culture and literawre: one neither wantS to annihilatc nor to exceedingly highlight di ffere nces berween rhe cultures. He; pro tagonist is con Linually forced to cross borders, especially in her attempt to find her Arabic rOOts. She is unable to usc another language but German ( 0 talk with her teacher in "Groi3vatcrzunge." She can only convey her feeli ngs llnd ideas in German, which feels offenSIve for her: "Es iSI eine Gemeinheit, mit einer Orientalm in Deutsch w reden, aber momCntllll haben ,vir ia nur illese Sp rache" (GZ 15). Here, (he problem of language as well as identity Lecomcs evident again. In claiming to be ;orienca t,' she dearly illustrates thc conqueSt of her own individuality: she uses a Western concept to define her own identi ty, and she is forced to use the German language. She appears (0 be misplaced, with no space to caU home: neither linguistically, nor physically. ThiS can be read as an effect of rhe homogenizauon of culture and of globalization. And 10 her attempl lO overcome German as her on ly means of communicalion she simultaneously struggles to prevail over the effec( globali zatio~ and Westernization have: had on her personal life. At the sa me Lime, the reader cannot help but realize how her writing in German is charactt=£ized precisely by [he concurrent presence of German, Turkish, and Anlobic. Thus, she lISes language to maintain her Ideal: a place for Turkish and Arabic in German and in Germany. As has been demonsuated, Ozdamar's ·'t-.!utter.lunge" and "Groi3va tcrzunge" a rc more [han mcralinguisLic commen taries: Partia lly veiled, they leU a Story about history, culturnl ickntiry, modernity and tradItion. T hose issues are linked by the fact that in this particular case, they can all be viewed as consequences of thaI lalest form of impe.rialism lhal we have come [Q identify as "globalization." I cluestioned whetherOzdamar attcmpts [0 deal With 30 Focus 011 Germall Sit/diM the effects of this phenomenon in hee slories. I think it is fair to say dun she very artistically points to me predicament, and paniculady with regard to female roles she offers a possible alrerna~ve ~o the uninformed and slcrcorypical image we tend to have of unrrugrant Turkish women in Germany: thal mey He exclusively uneducated, oppressed wives of lheiI immigrant husbands. Ozdan:'ar ~onsuuc(S a new role for a Turkish woman in Germany: her heraUlc IS no longer somebody's daughter or wife. but she handles her life herself. S~\e neither behaves the way a German nor a Turkish woman customa nly would; ruther, she tries (0 deal with those £WO culruraUy different expecracions and the rcsulring clash of tradition and so-called modernity by attempting to find her own way. Furthermore, Oldamars writing celebrates both linguistic and cultural differences and forces us to question our understanding of 'Otherness.' It is exacdy in this challenge [ 0 participate in what Seyhan calls "culrural bilingualism" (247) as well as in Ozdamar's insistence on trying to map a space in which Turklsh women can find and define [heir existence lha[ I consider her writings a contribution (0 an approach that deals with the dfeels of globalization. Itldial/a Vnil/mily, Bloomington Notes I Because of the importance of language In Lhis conleX[, the analysis wtll deal exclusively wllh the swries "I\·[uucrzungc" and "G ro(\vaterwnge," in which this lopic is most centnl. All references marked MZ or cz correspond to "Muner.tunge" or "Gro(\vaterzungc" respecnvdy, 2nd n:.fer to Lhe edinon SpeCil1Cd in Ihe "Works Cited." 2 Cf. Karam 195; Marchand and Runyan 3-4. I UnuslUl spellings hke 'Kudamm' for