The melancholy of this dying culture was all around us. Great as the desire to Westernise and modernise may have been, the more desperate wish, it seemed, was to be rid of all the bitter memories of the fallen empire: rather as a spurned lover throws away his lost beloved’s clothes, possessions and photographs. But as nothing, Western or local, came to fill the void, the great drive to Westernise amounted mostly to the erasure of the past. (Pamuk 2005: 27)

中文翻译：

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引言：民族国家时代过去的存在

这种垂死文化的忧郁就在我们身边。尽管西化和现代化的愿望可能很大，但更绝望的愿望似乎是摆脱堕落帝国的所有痛苦回忆：就像一个被唾弃的情人扔掉他失去的爱人的衣服、财产和照片。但由于没有任何东西，无论是西方的还是本土的，来填补空白，西化的巨大动力主要是为了抹去过去。（帕慕克 2005：27）