Kıskanmak (To Be Jealous) is Nahid Sırrı Örik's first novel, published in 1946 and often compared to the psychological realism of Flaubert, Balzac, and Stendhal. It centers on Seniha, an unmarried woman nearing forty who has spent her life in the shadow of her brother Halit — the family sent Halit abroad to study and prioritized his needs throughout, while turning away Seniha's own marriage prospects out of concern for the cost of a dowry.
The novel traces how the siblings' lives, which begin together in an İstanbul mansion, diverge sharply after a move to Zonguldak. When Halit marries a young woman named Mükerrem, Seniha initially treats her well — until she discovers Mükerrem is having an affair with a young man named Nüzhet. Rather than staying silent, Seniha seizes the opportunity to expose the affair to her brother, using the revelation as a long-awaited outlet for the jealousy and resentment she has carried for years.
The novel was adapted for film by director Zeki Demirkubuz in 2009. Örik's spare, interior style makes the book less a plot-driven story than a study of how neglect curdles into cruelty over a lifetime.