AN ANALYSIS OF JALIL MAMMADGULUZADEH’S “THE MAILBOX” FROM A BOURDIEUSIAN PERSPECTIVE

ABSTRACT

Pierre Bourdieu, one of the most influential sociologists of the twentieth century, analyzed society through the concepts of field, habitus, and capital. His sociological approach is highly functional not only in the analysis of real societies but also in examining imaginatively constructed social structures in literary works. Jalil Mammadguluzadeh’s “The Mailbox” can be considered a literary text well suited to analysis through Bourdieu’s sociological methodology. Therefore, the main aim of this study is to analyze the work within the framework of Bourdieu’s theory and to reveal the gap between social strata in the society of that period.

АННОТАЦИЯ

Пьер Бурдьё, один из выдающихся социологов XX века, исследовал общество через понятия поля, габитуса и капитала. Его социологический подход является весьма функциональным как для анализа реальных обществ, так и для изучения социальных структур, воображаемо сконструированных в литературных произведениях. Произведение Джалила Мамедгулузаде «Почтовый ящик» как литературный текст вполне подходит для исследования с позиций социологической методологии Бурдьё. В связи с этим основной целью данного исследования является анализ произведения в рамках теории Бурдьё и выявление разрыва между социальными слоями общества того периода.

Keywords: Pierre Bourdieu, field, habitus, capital, Jalil Mammadguluzadeh, The Mailbox.

Ключевые слова: Пьер Бурдьё, поле, габитус, капитал, Джалил Мамедгулузаде, «Почтовый ящик».

This article is an expanded, deepened, and academically restructured version of the study presented by Basdi Aghaliyeva at the student scientific conference titled “Heydər Əliyev: Founder of the Constitution and Guarantor of National Sovereignty” in 2025 and published in the conference proceedings, and later transformed into an article through the joint contributions of myself and Basdi Aghaliyeva.

Introductıon. Pierre Bourdieu was one of the prominent sociologists who began analyzing French society from the second half of the twentieth century. He initially studied philosophy and later continued his education in sociology. Between 1955 and 1960, during his military service in Algeria, he conducted ethnographic research on the Berbers living in the Kabylie villages and authored three ethnographic works. As a result, he transitioned from philosophy to sociology [2, p.8]. In developing his sociological methodology, he drew on the theories of philosophers such as Gaston Bachelard, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Claude Lévi-Strauss, as well as sociologists including Karl Marx, Max Weber, and Émile Durkheim [7, p.47]. Bourdieu addressed the limitations of these scholars’ theories and, approaching social phenomena from a broader conceptual framework, developed his own theoretical approach. He perceives society as a complex structure and, unlike his predecessors, attempts to analyze social events from a wider conceptual perspective [3, p.167]. His sociological methodology is highly functional for analyzing both real societies and socially constructed structures in literary works. In this context, Jalil Mammadguluzadeh’s The Mailbox and the social structure depicted in it are well-suited for analysis through his sociological framework.

Jalil Mammadguluzadeh was born on February 22, 1869, in the city of Nakhchivan. He is a prominent Azerbaijani writer, playwright, publicist, and social figure. Mammadguluzadeh is considered one of the founders of Azerbaijani realist literature. His works emphasize ideas such as enlightenment, free thought, justice, and human freedom. In his work The Mailbox, society is presented to the reader through the conflict between Western and Eastern cultures. The functioning of social structures and the clashes between groups that have adopted different cultures make it possible to analyze the text from a Bourdieusian perspective.

Materials and Methods

The main aim of this study is to analyze the short story “The Mailbox” by Jalil Mammadguluzadeh, one of the most important writers of Azerbaijani literature, based on Pierre Bourdieu’s key sociological concepts: field, habitus, and capital. The study employs a qualitative research method and draws upon both primary and secondary sources relevant to the topic. This research is of great significance for Azerbaijan from the perspective of the sociology of literature. Moreover, within the context of the post-Soviet space, the importance of the study lies in its contribution to understanding Azerbaijani society during the historical period depicted in the work.

Pierre Bourdieu’s Sociological Methodology

In Bourdieu’s theory, there are three fundamental concepts: field, habitus, and capital. Bourdieu establishes an analogy between the concept of field and the notion of a game. According to Bourdieu, every individual exists within a particular field. An individual is born into society and subsequently becomes socialized through institutions such as kindergarten, school, and university. Bourdieu likens social fields to games, emphasizing that, like players in a game, individuals within a field struggle to achieve their goals.

Habitus, on the other hand, encompasses the patterns of thought and behavior that are formed from the moment of an individual’s birth, shaped by the values acquired from family, close social circles, teachers, and society as a whole [6, p. 8]. The tools that individuals use to engage in struggles within a field are referred to as capital. There are three main types of capital: economic, cultural, and social. Economic capital refers to material income, financial resources, and assets that can be converted into property rights [1, p. 122]. Cultural capital includes an individual’s knowledge and skills, as well as the diplomas and certificates they have obtained. Social capital refers to the network of relationships and interactions an individual maintains with others within a group [4, p. 299]. These concepts proposed by Bourdieu are highly functional in the analysis of society.

A Bourdieusian Analysis of Jalil Mammadguluzadeh’s “The Mailbox”

The Mailbox, written in 1927 by Jalil Mammadguluzadeh, one of the most important writers of Azerbaijani literature, is highly suitable for analysis through Bourdieu’s sociological concepts. The primary social field of the work is Azerbaijan, which at the time was part of Tsarist Russia. Within this field, Muslims, Russians, and Armenians coexist.

When examining the habitus of the characters, it becomes evident that Novruzali—and, by extension, the peasants he represents—possess a habitus shaped in accordance with their social field. Their indifference to education and literacy, adherence to superstition, and persistence in backward modes of thinking are among the key aspects that require attention in the narrative. In contrast, when Russians and Armenians are generally depicted in the story, they are portrayed as having an interest in education and as possessing a habitus formed within this intellectual framework. Their act of placing a letter into the mailbox and continuing on their way symbolizes their openness to innovation and knowledge [5, pp. 127–128].

From the events taking place within the social field, it becomes clear that a certain segment of society does not know what a mailbox is. This is clearly evident from the conversations between Khan and Novruzali [5, p. 126]. The unequal access of individuals within this field to social and cultural capital is emphasized as one of the satirical elements of the work. While the khans, viziers, and the Russians and Armenians within the field are informed about the concept of the “mailbox,” peasants such as Novruzali are unable to read or write, which highlights the gap between individuals’ levels of cultural capital. Whereas the cultural capital of the upper class and of Russians and Armenians is relatively high, the cultural capital of the peasants is almost nonexistent. Novruzali’s difficult living conditions as a poor peasant also point to the weakness of economic capital among the lower classes. In addition, Novruzali’s social capital is extremely limited, as he maintains only minimal connections with people similar to himself within the village.

Conclusion

In this study, Jalil Mammadguluzadeh’s “The Mailbox” is analyzed through Pierre Bourdieu’s concepts of field, habitus, and capital. The social structure of the period is skillfully represented in the work through a constructed literary narrative. Mammadguluzadeh emphasizes that the perceived superiority of Western culture, as one of the cultural structures embracing innovative, rational, and critical modes of thought, stems from its adoption of an openness to development; by contrast, cultural structures that are resistant to innovation and more traditional in nature have historically exhibited a relatively limited level of development. It is observed that the forms of capital possessed by Muslims within their social field were extremely limited. Moreover, through the protagonist Novruzali and the villagers he represents, the work reveals a shared habitus that characterizes them. Their indifference toward education and science, as well as the emphasis on and criticism of superstitious and backward ways of thinking, reflect the habitus of Muslims portrayed in the text.

Through “The Mailbox” Jalil Mammadguluzadeh sought to awaken society—represented by Novruzali—from ignorance and to direct it toward knowledge and education. Novruzali is depicted as one of hundreds of villagers living in a state of ignorance. The patriotic writer’s aim was to draw attention to this miserable condition of the people and to contribute to its improvement. In conclusion, the work has been examined through Bourdieu’s conceptual framework, and it is anticipated that this study will contribute to future research in the field of the sociology of literature.

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