Many of us are familiar with the television series Yaprak Dökümü, adapted from the novel of the same name by Reşat Nuri Güntekin. Although nineteen years have passed since the first episode aired, the series continues to captivate dozens of viewers through its reruns, thanks to its strong performances and striking storyline (Ay Yapım, 2006–2010). As the series has been watched repeatedly by large audiences and each of its characters has been widely discussed, I also wanted to examine one of the most striking characters of the series, Ferhunde, within the framework of psychoanalysis.
The Plot Of The Series And Ferhunde’s Entrance
First, it is useful to briefly touch upon the plot of the novel. Ali Rıza Bey, a father of one son and four daughters, resigns from his position as a district governor after being asked to remain silent about an injustice, because he does not want his name to be tarnished (Güntekin, 2004). When his daughter Necla is admitted to a university in Istanbul, the family moves together to their inherited mansion in the city.
In the first episode, while the family members are happily wandering around Istanbul, Ali Rıza Bey’s wife, Hayriye Hanım—almost as if she foresaw that Istanbul would cause the family’s downfall—says, “This city will swallow a person whole.” With this line, the screenwriters actually provide the audience with a major clue about the events that will unfold in later episodes. Indeed, in the first episode, Ferhunde enters the scene with what viewers interpret as ominous looks.
Şevket, the family’s only son, encounters Ferhunde in the elevator while going to take a banking exam and falls in love with her at first sight. Şevket becomes deeply enamoured with Ferhunde. However, for Ferhunde, Şevket is merely a stepping stone that will help her escape her unhappy marriage and climb the social ladder. While Şevket dreams of forming a family with Ferhunde, unaware that she is already married, Ferhunde dreams of becoming the daughter-in-law of a district governor.
Ferhunde and The Dominance Of The Id
Ferhunde is a character who can tell any lie in line with her interests and who is willing to crush anyone in her way in order to obtain what she desires through the shortest possible path. This reminds us of the first of Freud’s three components of personality—the id, also known as the primitive self.
Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, describes three fundamental structures of personality (Schultz & Schultz, 2017): the id, the ego, and the superego. The id, also called the primitive self, is the part of personality that operates according to the pleasure principle. In other words, rules have no value for it; what matters is that its desires are satisfied immediately. For the id, any means of reaching its goal is permissible.
In the early episodes of the series, Ferhunde clearly reflects her primitive self to the audience. For example, when Şevket learns that she is married, he wants to break up with her. However, Ferhunde claims that her husband does not value her and even beats her. To prove this, she hits herself while alone at home and creates visible bruises on her face. She then goes to her friend Gülşen’s house and lies, saying that her husband caught her with Şevket in an inappropriate situation and violently attacked her, and that she barely managed to escape. In this way, she both gains her friend’s support for her relationship with Şevket and takes advantage of Şevket’s conscience and love in order to achieve what she wants.
The Conflict Between Id and Superego: Ferhunde And Şevket
In another scene of the series, we see Ferhunde meeting Ali Rıza Bey and his family. Ferhunde behaves rather recklessly in the presence of the family of the man she intends to marry. Even though she has just met them, she wants to enter Şevket’s room together with him. When Hayriye Hanım looks at her disapprovingly and asks, “What is going on?”, Ferhunde replies provocatively, “They say you can tell a lion by its den. I just wanted to see Mr. Şevket’s room.”
When she enters the room, she tries to seduce Şevket. However, because Şevket is a character whose superego is well developed, he feels uneasy in front of his family and resists Ferhunde. Ferhunde mocks his attitude and continues to tempt him. This scene between Şevket and Ferhunde is a clear example of the conflict between the id and the superego. In fact, Ferhunde strongly stimulates the id that Şevket usually ignores and suppresses. Having adopted his father’s values as his own, Şevket possesses an overshadowed identity that exists under the weight of his father’s moral standards. Through Ferhunde, he discovers his primitive self.
The Development Of The Superego
It is useful to elaborate further on the superego mentioned in the previous paragraph. The superego represents a person’s social self. In other words, it is the moral dimension of personality that acts with concern about “what others will say.” It develops during the process in which the individual gains the ability to distinguish between right and wrong. It is the aspect of the self that guides the individual through a combination of rules and values. In everyday language, it is commonly known as conscience.
The superego suppresses the id and evaluates human desires under the label of shame, repressing them. However, it is not healthy for a person to always act solely according to the superego and ignore the wishes of the id. For this reason, the ego functions as the rational part of personality that guides the individual according to the reality principle, helping them make reasonable decisions. It serves as a bridge between the id and the superego, postponing the id’s desires and fulfilling them at an appropriate time in a realistic manner.
In order to adapt to social life and function more effectively in society, every individual develops social masks. The psychological term for this social mask is persona (Feist, Feist, & Roberts, 2018). The self that serves as the reference point in the formation of our persona is the ego. When the ego fails to mediate between the id and the superego, the individual experiences distress, which can create the groundwork for psychological disorders.
Moments When Ferhunde Acts According To Her Superego
In later episodes of the series, we see moments when Ferhunde acts according to her superego. After Necla—one of Ali Rıza Bey’s middle daughters—runs away with her sister Leyla’s husband, the family goes through very difficult times. During this period, Leyla, whose psychological resilience is weaker than that of her siblings, falls into depression. After the eldest daughter, Fikret, also marries and leaves the mansion, the family becomes even more isolated.
During this time, Ferhunde provides the greatest support to the family. She follows Leyla at night to ensure that she takes her medication regularly and prepares her meals. She takes care of the youngest daughter, Ayşe. Because Ali Rıza Bey forbids even mentioning Necla’s name at home, Hayriye Hanım, who cannot express how much she misses her daughter, secretly cries beside Ferhunde and receives comfort from her.
Ferhunde is saddened when Fikret leaves the house and even reproaches Şevket for criticizing Fikret for marrying without informing the family. When Necla finds herself in a difficult situation, the family members hesitate to invite her back home because they are afraid of Leyla’s reaction. Ferhunde sincerely speaks with Leyla and persuades her to allow Necla to return home. In these scenes, we observe a compassionate Ferhunde acting through her superego.
Ferhunde’s Ego and Her Relationship With Levent
If we examine how Ferhunde is guided by her ego in the series, it is useful to focus on her relationship with Levent. During her marriage to Şevket, Ferhunde does not work and receives all her financial support from him. However, after Şevket is imprisoned, she begins working at a company in order to make a living.
This time she attempts to grow closer to her boss, Levent. However, unlike Şevket, Levent is not a man who easily succumbs to his emotions. He acts more rationally, and Ferhunde is aware of this. She had managed to influence Şevket through her femininity, but she realizes that this alone will not be sufficient to gain visibility in Levent’s eyes.
During her early days at work, she carefully observes Levent to understand what kind of person he is. Levent is meticulous and disciplined in his job, and Ferhunde realizes that she can attract his attention through diligence and hard work. Indeed, this is exactly what she does. She works overtime on weekends and expresses that challenging tasks will help her improve and motivate her further. As mentioned earlier, the ego postpones the desires of the id and fulfils them in an appropriate and reasonable way. Acting through her ego, Ferhunde patiently waits and is eventually noticed by Levent Tuncer, whom she sees as her path to salvation. This recognition is ultimately crowned with Levent’s marriage proposal.
Ferhunde’s Contradictions and Social Interpretations
The fact that we can still write and reflect on a television series that aired years ago means that we should express our gratitude to everyone who contributed to bringing this production to audiences. As a viewer, I can sincerely say that each actor in the series gave me a unique sense of enjoyment.
When certain films and television series are watched again with minds shaped by new life experiences, the same scenes and unchanged characters can be interpreted differently. On social media, I see a group of people who repeatedly watch Yaprak Dökümü, and they interpret growing older in the following way:
“When you grow up, you stop siding with the Tekin family and start siding with Ferhunde.”
Although this statement is partially true, I cannot fully agree with it because it normalizes Ferhunde’s harmful actions. Ferhunde had a bitter childhood, deprived of warmth and affection after her mother was imprisoned when she was young. However, even if she had been raised with care and affection like Leyla and Necla, we cannot know whether she would have become a more virtuous person. In this context, we should ask the following question: If a person’s goodness or badness is related to having loving and attentive parents, why was this not sufficient for Leyla and Necla? Why did Şevket embezzle money from the bank where he worked?
To say, “If Ferhunde had a father like Ali Rıza Bey, she would have become a virtuous person,” would it not be unfair to those who grew up in far more difficult conditions—some even without families from the day they were born—yet still managed to become virtuous individuals who treat others with compassion? Is it truly right to justify a person’s cruelty toward others—or even their willingness to harm innocent people for personal gain—by attributing it solely to childhood trauma? By doing so, are we not forcing innocent people, who bear no responsibility, to pay the price for the suffering that person experienced in childhood?
References
Ay Yapım. (2006–2010). Yaprak Dökümü [Television series]. Kanal D. Feist, J., Feist, G. J., & Roberts, T.-A. (2018). Theories of Personality (9th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education. Freud, S. (1923). The Ego and the Id. Hogarth Press. Güntekin, R. N. (2004). Yaprak Dökümü. İnkılap Kitabevi. Jung, C. G. (1953). Two Essays on Analytical Psychology. Princeton University Press. Schultz, D. P., & Schultz, S. E. (2017). Theories of Personality (11th ed.). Cengage Learning.