My Name is Red

Desired by other characters as the most beautiful woman in the world, Shekure is a 24-year-old widow with two young sons—Shevket and Orhan. Initially married to a handsome soldier, Shekure is left in an untenable position when her husband fails to return from a battle. As he is not declared dead, Shekure cannot legally wed again unless she can convince a judge to rule in her favor. At first, she and her sons live with her father-in-law and his son, Hasan, but the living situation becomes unsound after Hasan tries to rape Shekure. In response, Shekure moves back in with her father Enishte, with whom she is close.

Shekure is not only beautiful; she is also highly intelligent and canny. While she presents herself as a submissive woman, Shekure manipulates Black’s feelings for her to divorce her deceased husband. Following her marriage to Black, Shekure gives him ultimatums in order to gain her desires. For instance, she refuses to have sex with Black until Black identifies the murderer of her father and helps to complete his secret book.

One of the miniaturists employed to illustrate the Sultan’s secret book, Olive was trained by Master Osman and is known as a gifted artist. At first, he seems to uphold traditional Islamic beliefs about painting, telling Black stories about master miniaturists who went blind that suggest that Olive holds conservative views on art. Yet, Olive actually revers European art and wants to make himself famous and immortal through his use of Venetian techniques.

As the murderer, Olive struggles to come to terms with his actions, often feeling bifurcated. His initial killing of Elegant, meant to save the workshop from accusations of heresy, leads him to murder Enishte, who suspects Olive of murdering his fellow miniaturist. Following the murder of Enishte, Olive steals the secret book’s final picture, which was meant to be a miniature portrait of the Sultan painted in the European style. Olive tries to create a self-portrait in place of the Sultan’s picture, but eventually realizes that he lacks the talent. Indeed, Olive frequently struggles with self-doubt and needs reassurance. Some of his last words to Enishte, before killing him, are questions about his talent and individual style.