AND MALE DISCOURSE of IRANIAN MODERNITY Sahar Allam
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ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: MEN WRITING WOMEN: “THE WOMAN QUESTION” AND MALE DISCOURSE OF IRANIAN MODERNITY Sahar Allamezade, Doctor of Philosophy, 2016 Dissertation directed by: Professor Ahmad Karimi-Hakkak School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures In this dissertation I explore “The Woman Question” in the discourse of Iranian male authors. A pro-modernity group, they placed women’s issues at the heart of their discourse. This dissertation follows the trajectory of the representation of “The Woman Question” as it is reflected in the male discourse over the course of a century. It discusses the production of a literature that was anchored in the idea of reform and concerned itself with issues pertaining to women. These men challenged lifelong patriarchal notions such as veiling, polygamy, gender segregation, and arranged marriages, as well as traditional roles of women and gender relations. This study is defined under the rubrics of “The Woman Question” and “The New Woman,” which I have borrowed from the Victorian and Edwardian debates of similar issues as they provide clearer delineations. Drawing upon debates on sexuality, and gender, this dissertation illustrates the way these men championed women was both progressive and regressive. This study argues that the desire for women’s liberation was couched in male ideology of gender relations. It further illustrates that the advancement of “The Woman Question,” due to its continuous and yet gradual shifting concurrent with each author’s nuanced perception of women’s issues, went through discernible stages that I refer to as observation, causation, remedy, and confusion. The analytical framework for this project is anchored in the “why” and the “how” of the Iranian male authors’ writings on women in addition to “what” was written. This dissertation examines four narrative texts—two in prose and two in poetry— entitled: “Lankaran’s Vizier,” “The Black Shroud,” “‘Arefnameh,” and “Fetneh” written respectively by Akhundzadeh, ‘Eshqi, Iraj Mirza, and Dashti. Chapter one outlines the historical background, methodology, theoretical framework, and literature review. The following chapters examine, the advocacy for companionate marriage and romantic love, women and nationalistic cause, veiling and unveiling, and the emerging figure of the New Iranian Woman as morally depraved. MEN WRITING WOMEN: “THE WOMAN QUESTION” AND MALE DISCOURSE OF IRANIAN MODERNITY by Sahar Allamezade Thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2016 Chair & Advisor: Prof. Ahmad Karimi-Hakkak Advisory Committee: Prof. Sheila Jelen Prof. Zita Nunes Prof. Fatemeh Keshavarz Dean’s Representative: Prof. William Cohen ©Copyright by Sahar Allamezade 2016 DEDICATION For my mother Who loved me, so she let me go ii ACKNOWLDGEMENTS I would like to begin by thanking the members of my committee who helped bringing this work to completion. My heartfelt thanks are owed first and foremost to Ahmad Karimi-Hakkak, who taught me first and foremost how to read literature. He has been a generous and patient mentor and has been a steadfast supporter of this project since its inception. My education would never have been completed without his wisdom and guidance, for which I am eternally grateful. Sheila Jelen deserves a special note of thanks for offering different kinds of assistance along the way. She encouraged me to stick to my ideas when I had expressed doubts. I am thankful for incisive comments that she made especially on the first couple of chapters of the present work. She has patiently listened to me when I simply needed an ear. At the Roshan Institute of Persian Studies, Fatemeh Keshavarz’s door has always been open. Her support knows no end. Her dedication to her students is exemplary. I appreciate her guidance and valuable feedback at various stages of the writing of this project. At the English Department I am thankful to Zita Nunes. Her support has been constant since the start of my academic career. I am indebted to Bill Cohen for his part in guiding me through my research in the literatures of the Victorian and Edwardian eras. It was during the first semester at UMD and his seminar on the Victorian novel that made me want to read Persian texts the way we read English texts. I should also thank Orrin Wang and Linda Kauffman for their share in teaching me theory and how to think like an academic. I would like to thank Farzaneh Milani for her encouragement and support at the University of Virginia. She is the one who keeps telling me to not set limits for myself. I am eternally grateful for the professional opportunities that she made available to me and for her trust in me. Other friends, colleagues, and family members supported me and this project in different ways. Mahvash Shaheq’s love of literature and her command of Persian language have been inspiring. I thank her for her continued encouragement and faith in me. Firouzeh Dianat has been with me for the past three years as I wrote consistently. I cherish our insightful conversations, her edits, and sharp eye. She is a great friend and intellectual partner. Thank you Firouzeh jan. Hossein Sorourie provided me with one of the original editions of ‘Eshqi’ s poetry. I want to thank David Darick for all the poetry, music, and hours of delightful conversation. Thank you Majid Mirmontahaei for your help with my technical questions. Abbas Jamshidi has been a wonderful colleague and friend. He has provided me with helpful feedback and has helped me with locating texts when I needed them. My sincere thanks are due to Mostafa ‘Abedinifard. All the way from Alberta, Mostafa made shrewd observations and made perceptive comments throughout the serious writing phase of this work. He has made me a better writer. Hirad iii Dinavary of the Library of Congress has been incredibly helpful from the beginning. His energy and professionalism is unparalleled. He helped me to procure many books in Persian, and provided me with assistance when I had to look at old journals and newspapers. I would never have been here if it were not for my wonderful parents. They have always wanted me and my sister to learn as much as they could not. My mother’s red leather bound diary filled with Foruq Farrokhzad’s poetry, Shahyar Qanbari’s forbidden taraneh, and my father’s love letters to her opened the magical door to the world of words. My father’s eclectic book case lined with Dante’s Divine Comedy, Ethel Voynich’s The Gadfly, Hedayat’s Do Qatreh Khun (Two Drops of Blood), with an array of Shari‘ati and Motahari’s books along with many more shaped my young imagination. I owe my unquenchable thirst for reading to their young and hopeful minds. I want to thank my sister Faroo. She is the only one that I can go back to my childhood with. She knows where to find me. My borther-in-law, Farrokh, and my delightful nephews Koen and Ashkon have given me so much love. Last but not least, I want to thank my husband and my best friend, Joseph. His support knows no limit. He has always been there for me through some of the most difficult times. If it were not for his reassurance day in and day out this dissertation would never have been completed. Rahmat-e Kalan! iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION…………………………………………………………………………...ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS………………………………………………………………iii TABLE OF CONTENTS………………………………………………………………..v CHAPTER ONE: Introduction: The Iranian Woman Question: An Overview ................................................1 Chapter Delineation and Theory ........................................................................................10 Methodology ............................................................................................................... …..25 Male Authors & The Question of Gender..........................................................................28 CHAPTER TWO: Acting Like a Woman: Representation of Female Characters in “Lankaran’s Vizier” .....34 Struggle for Personal Space & Authority ..........................................................................37 Romantic Love, the Catalyst of Modernity………………………………………………47 Superstition and Women, A Modern Paradigm?...............................................................69 Satire, A Didactic Tool…………………………………………………………………..79 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………….84 CHAPTER THREE: Patriotic Poetry & Women: Trope of Woman as Nationalistic Symbol in “The Black Shroud”…………………………………………………………………………………..88 “The Black Shroud,” An Elegy for Iranian Women……………………………….…….97 Dead Women & Their Association with Nation in “The Black Shroud”………………134 Muslim, Arab Men as Violators of Women in “The Black Shroud”………………...…137 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………...139 CHAPTER FOUR: Veiled Wantons: The Unveiling of the Female Body in “‘Arefnameh”………..............142 “‘Arefnameh,” as Woman’s Body……………………………………………………...148 v “‘Arefnameh,” as Anti-Homoerotic/Anti-Homosexual Manifesto…………………..…176 “‘Arefnameh,” Nationalism, Heterosexual Hegemony, & its Relation to Sex with Women………………………………………………………………………………….184 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………...195 CHAPTER FIVE A Dystopian Vision: Male Anxiety & The New Iranian Woman……………………...199 “Fetneh,” The Story…………………………………………………………………….203 “Fetneh”/Fetneh: The Antithesis of The New Iranian Woman………………………...206 “Fetneh,” The Ambiguous New Woman ……………………..………………………..209 Male Anxiety and The New Iranian Woman……………...……...…………………….224 “Fetneh,”