My Name is Red

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1998

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-4

Chapters 5-10

Chapters 11-14

Chapters 15-19

Chapters 20-27

Chapters 28-36

Chapters 37-40

Chapters 41-47

Chapters 48-53

Chapters 54-59

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Chapters 37-40Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 37 Summary: “I Am Your Beloved Uncle”

Enishte observes his own funeral, noting the presence of key citizens of Istanbul and the outpouring of grief. While Enishte spots the murderer in the congregation, he is now “on a completely different plane of being” (228) and not impacted by his killer’s presence. In the afterlife, Enishte’s soul leaves his body and ascends to heaven, where he witnesses an array of vibrant colors. Nearing Allah, Enishte expresses his guilt for enjoying Venetian painting, but the Divine assures him that “East and West belong to me” (230). At peace, Enishte describes his experiences after death, which involve the ability to move in and out of time, observing his funeral while simultaneously reliving his youth.

Chapter 38 Summary: “It Is I, Master Osman”

Master Osman explains that many people have the wrong impression of painting masters. These masters are not condescending to others and dismissive of innovative art just because they are cruel; instead, Osman argues, most new styles of art are worthless and most people are unintelligent.

While working on a painting, Osman is summoned to the Sultan’s palace where he encounters the Head Treasurer and the Commander of the Imperial Guard. These agents of the Sultan explain that the Sultan is gravely upset by Enishte’s murder and has made two decrees: The book must be finished and the murderer must be found. Although Black suspects one of the miniaturists, Osman cannot believe it; he fears that the Commander will torture his former apprentices. The royal servants bring out illustrations from the manuscript and ask Osman who painted each work. Just as Osman is about to divulge the identity of the painters, the Sultan arrives.

Chapter 39 Summary: “I Am Esther”

After Enishte’s funeral, Esther visits Shekure and Hayriye at their home. Shekure tells Esther that as long as her father’s murderer is at large, neither she nor her children will have true peace. Esther then visits the home of Elegant’s widow who shows her a piece of paper with several sketches of horses found on her husband’s dead body. These drawings, Elegant’s widow suggests, were made by the murderer. If Shekure wants to help apprehend the killer, she needs to visit.

Chapter 40 Summary: “I Am Called Black”

Following Enishte’s funeral, Black is summoned to the Sultan’s palace. There, he is locked in a dark room and awaits his fate. Two executioners enter and place a vise over his head and begin to squeeze. When interrogated about Enishte’s death, Black maintains his innocence, despite his terror. He is released and Master Osman enters the room, explaining that the Sultan has ordered them to look closely at the secret book’s illustrations to discover the murderer. They have three days. If they do not learn the identity of Enishte’s killer, Black and the other miniaturists will be tortured.

Chapters 37-40 Analysis

Enishte’s experience of death provides answers to the central question of the book: How to understand the differences in way art is experienced in Eastern and Western tradition. Although Enishte feels guilt over his interest in European art, Allah tells the dead man, “East and West belong to me” (230). This statement implies that unlike the conservative Islam that has deemed Western art styles idolatrous, God accepts all forms of art and remains in control even when Western artists attempt to depict the world they see with their human eyes. It is telling that Enishte’s confirmation of this divine perspective aligns with his own side of Early Modern Islamic Debates about Art; as the novel plays with the reliability of its many first-person narrators, we see here most clearly how individual point of view influences lived experience.

In contrast, Master Osman represents the conservative viewpoint. When asked to assist the Sultan in discovering the murderer of Enishte and Elegant, Osman not only agrees to help, but also prods the Head Treasurer to torture Black to discover "what other secrets our late Enishte was harboring" (239). For Osman, then, the sacred nature of the Eastern style of art needs to be protected even if that means the pain and suffering of a human being he once trained as a child. In another example of self-serving narration, Osman excuses his own cruelty as a teacher by declaring that most people are worthy of his contempt. Like Master Osman, the widow of Elegant also positions herself as a traditional Muslim who is wary of artistic representations. She admits to Esther that the secret book upset her and subtly reminds the Jewish woman that her husband was only a gilder and was not hired to illustrate.