A Critical Study of the Discourses of Power and Gender in Shiva Arastui’s “Shazdeh Khanom”

Abstract

The two decades 1990s and 2000s could be regarded as the period of establishment of women’s literature and the formation of a feminine discourse in Iran. Shiva Arastui is one of the authors who attempt at de-stereotyping the notion of femininity by bringing women under focus. This article focuses on a critical study of the two discourses of power and gender and their mutual relationship in the short story “Shazdeh Khanom” (“The Princess”). The story advances on two internal and external levels. On the external level, the prevalent political discourse is undergoing a change due to the Islamic Revolution, and consequently, the individual’s position as subject in society, including the definitions of woman and femininity, changes. On the internal level, the narrator finds herself standing between tradition and modernity. Backed by social consciousness, she refuses to blindly accept parts of the tradition, but still remains a subaltern in the patriarchal society. These changes are not unilateral. As a change in the discourse of power leads to a change in the discourse of gender, the change in the discourse of gender and gender identity gives rise to women’s consciousness of their rights and demands, and this, in turn, obliges the higher ranks of society to recognize women’s existence and to accommodate themselves to the new definitions. Extended Abstract 1. Introduction Women’s literature has undergone enormous changes in the past two decades. In the 1990s and 2000s not only did the number of women writers increase, but also the quality of works produced by women improved significantly. The publication of literary magazines, translations of modernist and postmodernist works and different literary workshops are among factors contributing to the development of new styles and forms of fiction writing, resulting in higher self-confidence among female fiction writers. In her works, Shiva Arastui tries to abandon the cliches associated with the concept of femininity. The present article offers a critical study of the discourses of power and gender and their relationship with each other in Arastui’s “ShazdehKhanom”. 2. Theoretical Framework The present article relies on the ideas of Norman Fairclough on critical discourse and how power and hegemony develop in the society. He sees discourse to be made up of social practice, discursive practice (including the production, distribution and consumption) and the text. Discourse analysis, to him, is the analysis of each aspect separately and in interaction with one another. This article tries to find out whether there is a significant relationship between the discourses of power and gender in fiction. 3. Methodology The present article is follows a descriptive methodology and draws on text analysis to provide answers to the main questions of the article. 4. Findings At the external level of “Shazdeh Khanom”, the dominating discourse of power is changing and the conflict between the discourses of the monarch and the people has brought about a change in the social hierarchy and, consequently, the subjectivity of individuals. New roles and expectations, which had been previously absent in the traditional discourse, develop for revolutionary women. At the internal level, the narrator is poised on the boundary between tradition and modernity. Fully aware of the changes, she refuses to fit in with the expectations created by tradition and the feminine discourse. Arastui provides us with a picture of the Iranian society in transition. 5. Conclusion Any change at an upper level, in turn, brings about changes at lower levels, and movements at the base of a pyramid cause movements in upper levels. Women’s development of a new definition of their individual and family identity and their conscious attempt at fighting for their rights lead to changes in tradition, which control and direct women’ actions and behavior, and force the discourse of power to rethink its methods and practices in relation to members of society and their subjectivity. Women, as a result, use writing as a critical reaction to the discourses of gender and power and try to raise awareness about their status and situation, resulting in the formation of a feminine discourse that forces other discourses to accept their presence, new definitions and expectations.