The article examines Hagob Baronian’s sketch series A Stroll through the Quarters of Constantinople, viewing it as a distinctive localization of the nineteenth-century French genre of the physiological sketch and as a literary realization of the flâneur figure within the Western Armenian urban context. Drawing on the tradition of the French physiological sketch and Walter Benjamin’s theory of the flâneur, the article investigates Baronian’s flâneur not merely as a thematic or narrative figure but as a genre-forming category that shapes the entire system of observation, reading and textual production. The analysis demonstrates that the speaking figure in A Stroll through the Quarters of Constantinople fully corresponds to the core characteristics of the French flâneur model, exhibiting an observational gaze, social typology and a physiognomic reading of urban space. At the same time, it is emphasized that Baronian’s flâneur is not a simple reproduction of the French model. Within the multi-ethnic and politically tense context of the Ottoman Empire, the flâneur’s observational stance acquires additional functions of social critique and the awakening of national self-consciousness, which constitute its key distinction from the European models. The article further shows how Baronian skillfully adapts the genre of the French physiological sketch to the urban reality of Constantinople, creating an original Armenian variant of what may be termed a “satirical physiology”. The quarters are presented as fully developed characters, each with its own features, moods and temperament, while the city itself becomes a social laboratory in which the “diagnosis” of moral decay within these quarters is carried out. The exposure of social flaws through satire and uncompromising irony is naturally directed towards the community’s self-recognition and moral self-awakening. Beyond its literary value as a work of both national and international significance, the text also functions as an important historical and documentary source on the life of the Armenian community in nineteenth-century Constantinople. It is precisely this multifunctionality that characterizes major works of world literature.

KeywordsHagob Baronyan physiological sketch flâneur comedy satire Constantinople

The purpose of this article is to present the artistic and ideological value of Gabriel Sundukyans play The Broken Hearth, revealing how the author combines satirical and tragic elements in his work, demonstrating social problems, social inequality and moral crises. The aim is also to introduce the reader to the intention that Sundukyans works reveal social reality, push society to think independently and make changes

KeywordsSundukyan Broken Hearth satire drama social reality artistic value comedy.