Document Type : Research article
Author
Associate Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature, University of Zabol
Abstract
The novel Prince of Ehtejab by Houshang Golshiri, with its mind-centered, nonlinear narrative mixed with memory, illusion, and nested language, is considered one of the prominent examples of introspective narrative in modern Persian literature. In addition to the sequence of external events, the narrative of this work is reflected from within the feverish, delusional, and memory-deprived mind of the main character, namely Prince of Ehtejab, and represents his experience of history, violence, illness, sin, and decline in a multilayered and polyphonic format. The main issue of this research is how the narrative in this novel is formed based on the main character's mentalities and cognitive processes and organizes narrative elements such as time, place, language, and relationships between characters. The purpose of the research is to analyze the narrative structure in this novel based on the four main components of David Herman's cognitive narratology theory, which are: mind-centeredness, world-building, experience-centeredness, and multi-purposeness. The research claims that in addition to utilizing a mind-centered narrative, the mind of its main character is the main context and origin of the narrative; a mind that both reflects and reconstructs the fictional world. The research was conducted with a qualitative method and based on narrative text analysis. The findings show that this novel, by creating a psychological, multilayered, and static world, is an excellent example of mind-centered and experiential narrative in Persian literature, and its structure can be clearly analyzed with the components of cognitive narratology.
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