Time, Routine, and the Keskin Home

This flow traces the household’s private sense of time, sustained by clocks, television, meals, and Kemal’s repeated visits.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

The Clock That Sometimes Stops

The Clock That Sometimes Stops A household object The Keskin family’s wall clock may tick, chime, or remain stopped. The family talks about winding it without relying on it to know the hour. Continuity instead of measurement The clock reassures the household that nothing has changed, even as the world outside keeps moving. Its irregular sound becomes part of the family’s private atmosphere.

The Television Clock

The Television Clock Official time enters the room Before the evening news, a clock appears on television. Füsun checks her wristwatch and Tarık checks his pocket watch, joining the household to the state’s shared schedule. A divided experience The television connects the family to national life, while the clock in the hall preserves a more intimate sense of continuity. Kemal watches Füsun within both kinds of time.

Dinner as Repetition

Dinner as Repetition A familiar evening Kemal visits regularly for supper, conversation, raki, and television. The repeated form of these evenings gives him a stable place in the household. Routine delays change Each dinner renews his hope but postpones a decision about the future. The routine is comforting precisely because it appears to suspend the changes both he and Füsun fear.

A Present Experienced as Memory

A Present Experienced as Memory Watching while remembering Kemal sometimes experiences a supper as if he were already remembering it. His attention shifts between the present scene, his recollections, and an imagined view of himself watching the family. Time becomes unstable The effect is both consoling and unsettling. It allows him to savor ordinary moments but also makes the future seem remote and inaccessible.

The Household Ends

The Household Ends Tarık’s absence After Tarık Bey dies, the family’s routines lose their central figure. The television remains, but the old balance around the table cannot be restored. A new future emerges The altered household makes it possible for Füsun and Kemal to speak more openly, but it also exposes the loss beneath their hopes. Private time no longer shields them from change.

Kemal’s first months of visits

Evenings from 1976 onward

1976–1984

During the later years of the visits

March 1984