When the Ottomans took over control of Eastern Europe and the Middle East, they captured Christian children and converted them to Islam with the opportunity to climb the social ladder. If, however, the Christians refused to give up their past and war against their fellow Christians, they were promised a horrendous future. The conflict of choosing between one’s past and the opportunity for a greater future is called the Janissary’s Paradox, named after the converted Christians of the Ottoman Empire. Simply put, the Janissary’s Paradox means that one must deny their past to be able to acquire a future (Weinberg). This paradox is a common theme found among characters in different books such as The Bastard of Istanbul, The Naqib’s Daughter, and The Yacoubian Building.
Armanoush, one of the main characters in The Bastard of Istanbul, is an Armenian American who is split between her Armenian identity and her American identity. She does not know which side she should identify with more or how to balance the two identities. She claims that by “being the only daughter of an Armenian father, he himself a child of survivors, and of a mother from Elizabethtown, Kentucky,” she knows “how it feels to be torn between opposite sides, unable to fully belong anywhere, constantly fluctuating between two states of existence”, which was in reference to a conversation about the Janissary’s Paradox (Shafak, Ch. 6). Armanoush is struggling to decide whether or not to acknowledge her past or her family’s past in her life and if it is actually important to her. There are other characters that fit the paradox more accurately than Armanoush.
Existing as the daughter of a prominent Egyptian official who married her off to the French Commander is the epitome of the Janissary’s Paradox. Zeinab was married off to a Frenchman for her father’s own political gain. She was forced to live in a society that was unfamiliar and clashed with many of her moral beliefs. She had to choose between her old lifestyle and the new one put before her. If she abandoned her old ways, her own people would consequently lose their respect for her and treat her differently. If she chose to retain her old culture, the French would likely not communicate with her and as a result she would be left alone by herself. One of the first times Zeinab encountered the paradox was when French ladies dressed her up in French clothing and took her outside for the first time since she had married the Commander. She wanted to get out and be around other people but when she walked outside she “suddenly became aware of her naked neck; her bosom, exposed nearly to the nipple; her bare arms under the short puff sleeves. She held back for a moment, grabbing her shawl and winding it around her head and bosom, then held the fan up so that it covered her face (Serageldin, Ch. 6). Zeinab was uncomfortable with transitioning to a new culture. Her past had a big influence on her life.
Yet another example of the Janissary’s Paradox is found within The Yacoubian Building in the form of a girl named Busayna. She has been fired from multiple jobs because of her staunch morals. She would let none of her bosses take advantage of her. Her mother starts putting pressure on her to get a steady job using the welfare of her younger siblings as a motivator. Effie, her cousin, convinced Busayna that it was quite normal for girls to let their bosses take advantage of them and not lose their virginity in the process. Allowing her boss some privileges would earn Busayna job security and extra money. However, when put in a situation where her boss first approached her she “was struck by strong and conflicting feelings-determination to make the best of the opportunity and the fear which despite everything still wracked her and made her fight for breath and feel as though she was about to be sick” (Al Aswany, Part 1). Busayna had to choose between her morals and the opportunity to gain a better future. This embodiment of the Janissary’s Paradox is commonly used by authors when creating a compelling character for their work.