Islamic Art Studies

Islamic Art Studies

Recognizing Gothic in Persian Literature based on the Novel and Play of Shazdeh and Ehtijab by Houshang Golshiri

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Amin Ahmadyan 1
Mahmoud Firouzi Moghaddam 2
Hamedreza Selamanan 3
Ali Sadegi Manash 4
1 PhD Candidate in Persian Language and Literature, Torbat Heydariyeh Branch, Islamic Azad University, Torbat Heydariyeh, Iran.
2 PhD, Assistant professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature, Torbat Heydariyeh Branch, Islamic Azad University, Torbat Heydariyeh, Iran.
3 PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature, Torbat Heydariyeh Branch, Islamic Azad University, Torbat Heydariyeh, Iran.
4 PhD, Assistant professor, Invited member of Persian Language and Literature Department, Torbat Heydariyeh Branch, Islamic Azad University, Torbat Heydariyeh, Iran.
10.22034/ias.2020.253128.1400
Abstract
In the field of fiction, Gothic refers method of writing stories in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, which includes themes such as fear, death, eerie spaces, the dominance of patriarchal ideas, violence against women, neurotic characters and frightening places as such topics form its most prominent axes. This style of writing appeared for the first time in 1764 when "The Castle of Otranto" was written by "Horace Walpole". Later, other writers expanded this story-writing method by authoring literary works. Storytellers in the field of Persian fiction also turned to this literary style in search of influence from Western schools. For the first time, Sadegh Hedayat took a step in this way with the writing of the book “Buf-e Kor” (Blind Owl); thus, other writers followed this method and this type of literature progressed in Persian fiction works. Although the Gothic elements in Iranian fiction are not completely consistent with its western examples, it can be claimed that Persian fiction works have succeeded in this field and added elements are observed in a number of cases. Houshang Golshiri's novel Shazdeh Ehtjab is one of the novels written in the Gothic literary genre and the components of this literary genre can be examined in it. The method of the current research is based on content analysis and the collection of information has been performed by the library method. The results of the present research display that Golshiri, with proper atmosphere and appropriate use of the two elements of time and place, as well as portraying characters whose actions and behavior added to the terrifying and eerie atmosphere of the story and expressed illusions, violence and lethality in the story, have introduced his work as a Gothic novel.
Research aims:

Recognizing Gothic style in Persian literature.
Investigation of Gothic in the novel and play of Hoshang Golshiri's Shazdeh Ehtjab.

Research questions:

What is the place of Gothic style in Persian literature?
What is the reflection of Gothic in the novel and the play of Shazdeh Ehtjab?
Keywords
Fiction
Gothic
Shazdeh Ehtjab
Houshang Golshiri
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