The Representation of National Values in Erkin Samandar’s Novel “Sulton Jaloliddin”

The article analyses the representation of national values in the historical novel Sulton Jaloliddin by Erkin Samandar, focusing on portraying female characters as keepers of cultural traditions and moral values. The first goal of the project is to investigate by what means national values (patriotism, loyalty, spiritual tenacity, memory etc.) might be realised in the narrative line via female characters. The study employs a qualitative literary-analytic approach using textual analysis, character analysis, and certain features of comparative interpretation based on cultural and axiological theory. The analysis thus systematically explores the selected episodes and character representations to unveil the symbolic and ideological roles women play in the novel. The evidence shows that women are hardly portrayed as inactive historical characters in the stories, but instead as independent contributing protagonists of national consciousness, transmitting ethical norms or reinforcing a common consciousness and molding the moral personality development of primary male heroes. Their roles are also important in the novel's wider ideological paradigm of nationhood and resistance. Theoretically, the article contributes to power by providing a fresh standpoint on gendered images of national values in Uzbek historical fiction which lack sufficient treatment in extant literature. In so doing, it raises the level of debate in literary studies by incorporating both gender analysis and examination of national ideology. In addition, these findings could serve as a reference for scholars, educators and curriculum construction personnel involved in teaching national literature, cultural studies and value-orientation education to help foster historical consciousness and moral education of the younger generation. The study of this paper is restricted to only one literary work; hence, it is suggested that the future studies carry out comparative analyses for other historical novels dealing with similar themes and subjects in order to create a better ground for contextualizing the role of female characters as national story makers.