Author Ayşegül Savaş recently provided insight into her short story, “Intimacy,” which details the evolving friendship between a young writer and an older, established author couple. In a discussion about the work, Savaş explored the complex themes of artistic identity, the pressures of motherhood, and the authentic nature of human connection.
The story centers on a narrator who struggles to reconcile her creative life with her role as a mother of young children. Savaş explained that the narrative was an experiment for her, written without a predetermined ending to better capture the creative process in real time.
Key Takeaways
- Ayşegül Savaş's short story “Intimacy” examines the relationship between a young writer and an older author and his wife, Marian.
- A central theme is the narrator's internal conflict between her identity as a writer and her identity as a mother.
- Savaş revealed she wrote the story without a planned ending, a departure from her usual method, allowing the characters and plot to develop organically.
- The story explores how perceptions of intimacy and friendship can shift, leading to unexpected emotional connections.
An Unconventional Writing Process
For many writers, a clear outline or ending is a crucial starting point. However, Ayşegül Savaş took a different approach with “Intimacy.” She began the story as an exercise while preparing a lecture on the short-story form.
“I had very little to say about stories in general,” Savaş noted, explaining her difficulty in generalizing the writing experience. To better understand her own process, she decided to write a story in parallel to her lecture preparation, aiming to “'catch' myself in the act.”
A Departure from Method
Savaş admitted that she typically knows the ending of her short stories before she begins writing. For “Intimacy,” she intentionally broke this rule. “I had no idea where I was going,” she said. This improvisational method allowed characters like Marian, the older author's wife, to emerge and assume a central role unexpectedly.
This paragraph-by-paragraph method of discovery is why, in Savaş's view, “the story keeps changing at every turn.” The narrative unfolds for the reader in much the same way it unfolded for the author herself, creating a sense of immediacy and surprise.
Exploring Generational Divides in Writing
The dynamic between writers of different generations is a recurring interest for Savaş, previously explored in her 2019 novel, “Walking on the Ceiling.” While she was not consciously thinking of her novel while writing “Intimacy,” she acknowledged the persistent appeal of this theme.
“There is so much to explore in that space between imagination and reality—interacting with a person and with their works, the various hierarchies and hopes.”
Savaş described the relationship as something akin to an old-fashioned apprenticeship, a structure she finds pleasing. It allows for an examination of mentorship, influence, and the gap between an author’s public work and their private self. This dynamic forms the initial framework for the narrator's interactions in the story.
The Conflict Between Motherhood and Artistic Identity
A significant source of tension in “Intimacy” is the narrator's struggle with her dual roles. As a young mother, she is consumed by the practical, often exhausting, realities of parenthood. Yet, she actively conceals this part of her life from the older male author she admires.
A Curated Persona
Instead of sharing details about her children, the narrator presents a more romanticized version of her writerly self. She discusses ideas for a future novel, believing the esteemed author would be bored by her identity as a mother. According to Savaş, this behavior stems from two places.
“We meet the narrator at a moment when her identity is in flux,” Savaş explained. “She is holding on to an idea of what a writer should be, even though this model no longer seems authentic to her.”
Separating Selves
The narrator’s decision to keep her identities separate creates an internal division. By not integrating her experiences as a mother into her life as a writer, her artistic self becomes less true to her actual life. This compartmentalization is a defense mechanism but also a source of her underlying dissatisfaction.
This internal conflict is challenged when she meets Marian, the author's wife. Marian, having raised children herself, immediately offers a sense of understanding and empathy that the narrator finds both comforting and slightly unsettling.
The Nuances of Female Connection
The relationship between the narrator and Marian becomes the emotional core of the story. Marian represents a life where different roles—wife, mother, individual—are not kept in separate boxes. “What is striking to the narrator about Marian is that she is so comfortable with who she is,” Savaş said.
The narrator initially feels a sense of resentment, begrudging the fact that Marian has created a smooth, supportive environment for her husband’s artistic career. However, Savaş suggests this feeling is misdirected. The narrator’s frustration is ultimately with “the various dead ends in her own life, the experiences that she tries to keep contained.”
A Test of Intimacy
The story reaches a turning point when the narrator, distracted by a family crisis, falls out of touch with Marian, only to discover later that Marian has become seriously ill. This moment forces the narrator to confront the true nature of their bond.
Savaş explained that the narrator has lost her “internal compass for intimacy.” After performing friendship for so long, she is surprised to realize her feelings for Marian are genuine. Her subsequent need to overstate their closeness is an attempt to correct her own faulty emotional compass and acknowledge a connection that became real without her noticing.
Art, Life, and Generosity
Early in the story, the narrator declares, “this isn’t a story about writing, about making art.” Savaş revealed this is a misjudgment on the narrator's part. The character begins by believing that creativity and life are separate spheres, but the story's progression proves otherwise.
The narrative ultimately becomes about the importance of listening, communication, and empathy. The narrator learns that the qualities that make a good artist are inseparable from those that make a good human being.
“She sees generosity in life and generosity in writing as separate,” Savaş stated, “but they actually derive from the same source.” In this view, the story is fundamentally about making art, because making art is about authentically connecting with and listening to others.