An interpretation of the symbolic function of Water Myth and itsmanifestations in Firdowsi’s Shahname based on mythological criticism

جستارهای نوین ادبی

Article 3, Volume 42, Issue 2 - Serial Number 165, January 2010, Pages 69-93   

Document Type: Research Article

DOI: 10.22067/jls.v42i2.4183

Authors

Farzad Ghaemi^* ; Abolghasem Ghavam; mohammad Yahaghi

Abstract

Mythological or archetypical criticism is an interdisciplinary approach which analyzes the literary text based on the findings of such sciences like psychology, anthropology, history of religion and history of civilization. In the present paper, the writers have studied the function of the aqueous archetype image in the myth of creation and the resulting mysteries in the context of mythological doctrines centered around Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh (Epic of Kings). Water myth, as one of the four contradictory elements forming the mythological material world, has assumed certain roles and is a common phenomenon in the world myths and Shahnameh. The symbolic functions of the water myth have been divided into three parts:
1. In different human cultures, the aqueous myth is a symbol of the beginning of material creation and life cycle in the universe. This function is symbolized in the primal creation of the world out of water and its symbolic end in it.
2. Water Myth is the main symbol of eternity and continuity of material life. This function is symbolized in the "life-sustaining water" and "the healing water".
3. The third function of Water Myth is manifested in the myth of passage through water (water test) and symbolic washing by it (baptism myth); this is used as a test for the human catharsis, passage from a former stage into a new, exalted stage symbolized as the archetype of death and rebirth.

Keywords: Water Myth, Four Elements, Mythological Criticism (Archetypical criticism), Archetype, Jung, Shahnameh