My Name is Red: Chapter 26 Summary & Analysis

When Hayrire returns with Esther, Shekure is spying on Black and Enishte. She worries that Black’s love for her will not be “eternal,” and if he continues to be unable to marry her he will surely fall in love with someone else. Shekure is also concerned that Hayrire might be snitching on her to Enishte. Shekure snatches the letters from Esther’s hand and reads Black’s first. She then reads Hasan’s letter, which she feels confirms that he’s gone mad. Hasan tells her he’s heard about her dream, and that he intends to go to the judge to force her to return to his father’s house. Shekure begins writing a response to Black and pauses. Esther reassures her that everything will be alright, and when Shekure doubts whether anyone would want to marry a widow with two children, Esther insists that “a slew of men” would.

Shekure hears Black and Enishte discussing the European portrayal of facial expressions in the next room. She spies on them and is shocked to see that Black’s handsome face is completely pale. She fantasizes about kissing and embracing Black and about the size of his penis, but her thoughts are interrupted by Orhan and Shevket, who are squabbling. She writes a note to Black promising that she will meet him at the house of the Hanged Jew. She doesn’t respond to Hasan’s letter, though she admits that she loves him as well, particularly after learning that he makes a lot of money. Shekure takes Shevket to one side and asks him to deliver a letter to Black, but Shevket protests that yesterday Black admitted that he killed Shevket’s father. Shevket cries and Shekure slaps him, before embracing him.

Shekure notes that dreams are powerful. In Portugal, where Esther comes from, the Jesuits would torture Jews who claimed to be Catholic, forcing them to confess to dreams that proved they had sex with the Devil. Shekure adds that dreams are useful as a way of covertly expressing thoughts and desires that cannot be stated explicitly. Shekure sends Shevket to the kitchen and asks Orhan to deliver the piece of paper to Black. Orhan hesitates, but eventually agrees. Later, she calls the two boys together and scold Shevket for telling Orhan that Black killed their father. Shevket cries that he’d prefer Hasan to become their new father, and Shekure slaps him again. They all cry and embrace again, and Shekure sends them downstairs to eat. After Orhan successfully delivers the letter to Black, she sends the boys out to the market with Hayrire.

Shekure tries on different outfits and closes the door softly as she leaves, “like a ghost.” At the house of the Hanged Jew, she briefly thinks that Black will not come; however, shortly after, he arrives. He asks her to remove the veil covering her face, and after some resistance, she does. Black declares that she has become even more beautiful with time, and that he wishes he’d had a portrait of her to treasure during the 12 years they spent apart. They kiss, and Shekure is too happy to feel guilty. She thinks about how their embrace would be depicted by the master illustrators of Herat. At first there is some awkwardness and embarrassment between them, but as they begin to have sex this dies away. However, Black then asks Shekure to perform a “vulgar act” that so infuriates her that she shouts and pushes him away.