not a princess, a sultana

is that Ibrahim's backstory is given so much more attention and dissection. We hear more about it, see it, hear his internal thoughts on it, etc. On the other hand, Hürrem's past is rarely ever touched on except for in season 1.

I used to think this was bad and misgonistic writing (still do, tbh, in full context of the script and how it treats female characters), but I think, if it was a deliberate writing choice, it was a good one.

One of the biggest reason Hürrem remained in favor is because she never saw her success outside of Suleyman and what he gave her. While a good deal of her journey was rooted in trying to grow past her slavery, she kept it mostly behind closed doors except for things like charity, which was still ultimately seen as a humble deed.

Because, given the sexism of the time period, it's easy for both the character and the viewer to assume that, of the two, Ibrahim is the one who's "safer" in his position due to being a man. And, admittedly, while Ibrahim mirrors Hürrem's own cycle of falls from favor only to receive shocking displays of forgiveness, it can be argued that Ibrahim's is granted more readily (and that he often gets away with more before the fall).

Except, in the Ottoman Empire, Hürrem's gender is actually what keeps her safe here since she can only ever compliment Suleiman's own position rather than challenge it. There's even a ready made position for her to step into, after the death of the Valide Sultan, since the dynasty outright requires a senior female position as much as a male's.

Ibrahim, not having that, strives instead to become Suleiman's brother in truth, never seeming to realize that, for that to be the case, there's only one possible outcome.

However, Ibrahim's fixation on outrunning his roots vs. Hürrem's determination to assimilate with them, in her own way, does become a center point of how they foil one another, I think.

This, for example, is Ibrahim on his way back to Parga in episode 13

compared to this moment from his final episode in 82.

ECE ÇEŞMIOĞLU AS ATIKE SULTAN

This is a bad take for a couple of reasons. 1. You can't really equate modern ideas or movements with a 16th century context. Nobody in this franchise is a feminist by today's standards (the two women who I can think of who actively stick up for other women, Hürrem herself and Şah Sultan, do so reasons other than a principled modern feminist stance. Hürrem defends Nigar because of her empathy and perceptiveness towards double standards and Şah calls out Lütfi's cruelty towards the sex worker because it goes against the rules that mean so much to Şah). And if anything Hürrem in the show is remarkable because of the amount of empathy she is capable of showing towards other women (a good example of this being her charity work). Is this principled feminism? Does this take away from the fact that she absolutely can be ruthless and cruel towards other women? No and no. But it stills sets her apart from most of the other prominent women in the series.

2. She's far too ambitious for that. Being a 'tradwife' means giving up the idea of having a career. Hürrem notably does not do this. In the series we see her challenge the status quo. She wants to 'rule the world'. And in both the series and in history she kicks off the sultanate of women. You don't do that by 'embracing traditional values'. And her historical counterpart had political and diplomatic influence.

This is 100% a matter of distorting facts to suit a hypothesis since, at the end of the day, this matter is entirely too subjective for any statement to be made with utter accuracy.

I could just as easily, for example, claim that a modern day Mahidevran instead would wind up exemplifying the "anti-feminist tradwife" figure since she's meant to be the last figure to maintain the "old ways" while Hürrem ushers in a new wave of change.

Ultimately, none of the characters who were enslaved into the Ottoman Empire (yes, even Ibrahim!) would be the same in a modern day scenario because being reduced to slaves and all the suffering that came with it shaped their personalities and mindsets to such an extent.

this is a gross misunderstanding of who Hürrem is, and what her goals and ambitions are. the reason she submits so completely to Suleyman is because Suleyman gives her power - without him, and her sons, she has nothing. tragic but unfortunately true. and even then, you can argue that she goes behind his back on many many many occassions, so she doesn't actually follow his every wish blindly. she never acts against him per se, but she certainly makes choices that are explicitly against his wishes. she doesn't live simply to serve him.

tradwives are ultraconservative, stay-at-home moms who defer to their husbands in all matters. even from a historical perspective, that is not Hürrem. she challenges the status-quo several times (bears more than one son, receives her own title, is freed and marries the sultan, wants to move into the Valide's chambers - just off the top of my head, but I know there's more), and she seeks and achieves political power. to the point where she even secretly listens in on Suleyman's meetings in season four??

MERYEM UZERLI AS HÜRREM SULTAN

ECE ÇEŞMIOĞLU AS ATIKE SULTAN

PELIN KARAHAN AS MIHRIMAH SULTAN

NUR FETTAHOĞLU AS MAHIDEVRAN SULTAN

ECE ÇEŞMIOĞLU AS ATIKE SULTAN