Exploring the Representation of the Thoughts of Emmanuel Levinas in the Philosophical Novel Mosul, Without Parichehr by Hossein Ghassami

جستارهای نوین ادبی

Volume 55, Issue 1 - Serial Number 216, June 2022, Pages 83-104   

Document Type: Research Article

DOI: 10.22067/jls.2022.74609.1228

Author

Ayoob Moradi^*

Associate Professor at Payam Noor University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Novel is one of the most important forms of creating a literary work that has special capacities. Using language and imagination, authors of novel can create a fictional world based on the elements in the real world and explain their ideas through it. Among these, philosophical concepts have a special status, in such a way that sometimes the format of the novel is used to express philosophical thoughts and the author tries to present hard philosophical statements to the audience in a more acceptable manner. The point is that instead of expressing philosophical ideas directly, he should express them in a narrative text. Among the creators of contemporary Persian fiction, Hossein Ghassami is a writer who pays special attention to philosophical concepts in his writings. The novel Mosul, Without Parichehr is the author's latest work, in which he describes Levinas's thoughts. Concerning the importance of this philosopher's views, many have regarded him as the founder of a philosophical-moral system that could rebuild the weak foundations of morality in the contemporary world because of his attention to the “Other”. By proposing concepts such as "infinite other" and its role in determining the limits of "subjectivity" and the subject of "infinite responsibility" of man to another, Levinas has considered moral life dependent on paying attention to these concepts. This resaerch took a descriptive-analytical method to study the ways of representing the thoughts of this philosopher in the mentioned novel. The results show that Ghassami indirectly represented the subject of the "Other" with characteristics such as "Infinity" and “Otherness" by paying attention to the character of "Parichehr" and the subject of his absence, as well as the endless search for the character of "Arman" to find this lost lover. In addition to this symbolic expression, Levinas's basic teachings such as "responsibility" and "face" have been considered in both narrative actions and character dialogues.

Keywords

Philosophical Novel; Emmanuel Levinas; Other; Responsibility; Hossein Ghassami

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