Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1 Ph.D. Candidate of Persian Language and Literature, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran
2 Associate Professor, Department of Persian Literature, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
Introduction
Throughout history, human settlement on the planet has gone through a hierarchy and has brought different ways of dwelling. At each stage of dwelling, by providing the needs of the previous stage, man has set foot on a new stage and improved his dwelling methods. "Dwelling is not just about having a roof over your head and a flat ground under your feet." Different ways of settlement have taken place in pursuit of the realization of the goal or the set of goals of humans. Each of these ways of dwelling on the earth is realized with the help of specific architectural buildings to that dwelling, and each architectural building has its unique characteristics due to being in a certain category of dwelling. This unique feature of architecture, in addition to the analysis of architectural buildings, can also be used in literary analysis. In the interdisciplinary studies of architecture and fiction, with the knowledge of the classification of buildings and their special way of settlement, literary analyses can be enriched and the relationship between architectural buildings and narrative can be examined from this perspective.
Methods
In the theory of The Concept of Dwelling, Christian Norberg-Schultz has divided the types of dwelling into four categories: Settlement, collective, public, and private dwelling. The city and the urban spaces form the collective dwelling, institutions are the place of the realization of the public dwelling and the house is the place of the realization of the private dwelling. Therefore, every architectural building, by being placed in one of the four ways of dwelling and their subsets, shows a form of manifestation of the existence between the earth and the sky and brings a unique appearance to the platform that is different from the others. For example, Norberg-Schultz compares the two architectural buildings of the church and the city hall in his book and believes that the church emphasizes "heavenly" concepts and the city hall pays attention to "earthly" aspects. This form of manifestation of existence in architectural buildings can be traced in fiction. In Samfoni-e Mordegan, the relationship and interest of each of the characters to a specific architectural building, with its specific settlement characteristics, form the identity of those characters. In other words, the type of residence they choose, reveals different aspects of their personality. This research seeks to answer the question, what are the unique features and characteristics of the architectural buildings with different residences in this novel, and how can these architectural spaces with different characteristics interact with the elements of the story and reveal the identity of the characters? In a general view, what capacities does architecture with this unique feature provide for the writer of fiction to express the desired concepts to describe the characters and represent their identity?
Discussion
In Samfoni-e Mordegan, buildings and architectural elements such as Caravanserai, Ghahveh-Khaneh and house, kitchen, storeroom, window, and threshold were discussed and investigated. After the investigation, it was found that the architectural buildings are not just a setting for the plot of the story, but they have come to the aid of characterization in several different ways and have revealed the identity of the characters: the house, Ghahveh-Khaneh, and the Caravanserai are the continuation of the characters in this story. As a place of private residence with unique characteristics, which make it an impenetrable fortress, the house is equal to the father, who, although he seeks to bring the family together - like the function of the house - rules and doesn't let anyone into his world. The Ghahveh-Khaneh, which is designed in the place of an architectural building for public dwelling, represents Aydin as a cultural and intellectual character, who has also been pushed aside and rejected by Shurabi Lake; Also, at the beginning of the story, it is a warm, intimate and bright environment, and at the end of the story, it turns into a ruin. All these images remind Aydin, who as a child and teenager is full of passion and life and seeks to gain knowledge, but after a while, he is rejected by his family and the actions and behavior of his father and Urhan turn him into a madman. The Caravanserai, which in traditional Persian literature is a metaphor for the world, and in the story is also the place where the fire is built and the smoke rises from there, is equal to Urhan, who is a person who loves the world and is the cause of many problems of the Urkhani family, especially Aydin. In another connection between architecture and narrative, the author has described the character of Aydin with the help of the implied meanings of the basement as the place of the dead, and as it was also mentioned in the story of Aydin's mind in the fourth movement, Aydin is searching for the past and the dead and the reason for Aydin's interest in The basement also lies in this point. Finally, the elements of the kitchen and storage space, as well as the window, are used as a threshold to help describe Aida's character. The author shows the character of Aida to the reader by showing the meaning of the kitchen.
Conclusion
The analysis and rereading of the novel Samfoni-e Mordegan based on the theory of Norberg-Scholtz's Concept of Dwelling revealed a new dimension of this novel. After this analysis, it became clear that the architectural places in this novel are not just a background for the story to take place and have a role beyond this. Architectural places such as house, Ghahveh-Khaneh and Caravanserai are located in correspondence with fictional characters with the help of parallelism. Jaber Urkhani is parallel to the house, the Ghahveh-Khaneh is parallel to Aydin, and the Caravanserai is parallel to Urhan.
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