Applying van Dijk’s Discourse Analysis on the Identity of Women in Four Selected Persian Novels (Soovashoon, I will turn off the lights, Year of riot, Ahu Khanum’s husband)

زبانشناسی و گویش های خراسان

Article 4, Volume 15, Issue 3 - Serial Number 32, December 2023, Pages 119-91   

Document Type: Original Article

DOI: 10.22067/jlkd.2023.81602.1157

Authors

Sajjad Bagheri^{* 1}; Ali Alizadeh²

¹PhD Candidate in Linguistics, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

²Associate Professor in Linguistics, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

Abstract

The identity of women and the issues related to them are currently important all over the world, but due to some traditions that govern the societies, this part of the society has always been considered the second class. This way of looking at women's identity has also appeared in fiction. Since the discourse analysis emphasizes the principle that the way of creating each discourse is rooted in the viewpoint and opinion of the creator of that discourse and the social conditions and beliefs of that period, considering the principles of Van Dijk's ideological square, the threefold function of discourse, as well as the discourse strategies used by the authors, the novels were analyzed at semantic, description, style, and reasoning levels. This descriptive-analytical study was done on four famous Persian novels: Soovashoon by Daneshvar, I will turn off the lights by Pirzad, Year of riot by Maroufi, and Ahu Khanum’s husband by Afghan. Using the principles and common concepts of Van Dijk’s discourse analysis, and also through the examination of dialogues, presuppositions, description, interpretation, arguments and other discourse concepts, the formation of the identity of women in different social classes, taking the role of mother and wife, and their efforts to prove their identity were explored. As a result, three factors, including social behavior, educational behavior, and awareness were pinpointed as the main factors of representing women’s identity that allow it flourish.

Keywords

Van Dijk’s Discourse Analysis; Persian Novel; Identity of Women; Social Behavior; Educational Behavior

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