The Study of Shahrnush Parsipourâs âTouba and  The Meaning of the Nightâ on the Basis of Erving Goffmanâs Theory of Stigma

Fathollahi, Simin; Zabihnia Emran, Asieh; Poshtdar, Ali Mohammad

doi:10.2634/Lire.20.81.145

The Study of Shahrnush Parsipourâs âTouba and The Meaning of the Nightâ on the Basis of Erving Goffmanâs Theory of Stigma

Document Type : مقالات علمی پژوهشی

Authors

Simin Fathollahi

Asieh Zabihnia Emran

Ali Mohammad Poshtdar

10.2634/Lire.20.81.145

Abstract

This paper aims to study Shaharnush Parsipour's novel Touba and the Meaning of the Night" (1368) in the framework of Erving Goffman's theory of Stigma: Management of Spoiled Identity (1963). This theory examines the relationship between people in daily life. This novel narrates the life of Touba from the late Qajar to the Pahlavi period. While using an anthropological approach, the present descriptive-analytical research tries to answer which themes of Goffman's Stigma are more prominent in the novel regarding Touba, who narrates the story. The results indicate that the novel's most important stigmas and labelings are feelings of anonymity or loss of identity, disgust, rejection, anti-currentism, social dissent, and doubts about Touba's character, which often has a psychological and cultural basis. The disrespect, hesitation, ominous feeling of destiny, insecurity, obsession, and inferiority complex, and consequently, the arousal of hatred and revenge surrounded Touba more than anything else.

Keywords

Shahrnush Parsipour

Touba and The Meaning of the Night

Erving Goffman

Persian contemporary novel

Analysis Goffman's theory of Stigma

Subjects