Analyzing the Short Story of Shabhaye Varamin by Sadegh Hedayat based on Ideology Theory

Shabhaye Varamin (Varamin nights) is one of the short stories by Sadegh Hedayat which is analyzable from various views in literature sociology and new literal theories like ideology theory, and proposes a complete social approach. In the current study, principles and rules of ideology theory (such as the effect of language from ideology, rebuilding ideology by society, the response from ideology and going along with it) has been obviously applied by the writer. Precisely, it is through these principles and rules that he criticizes some of the fundamental and folk accepted believes at the late Qajar time and the beginning of the Pahlavi era. In the current study, it has been tried to provide an accurate and scrutinizing study of mentioned text concepts. Furthermore, confirmations related to this theory are extracted and analyzed by considering the time of publication for the cultural and social contexts. So that in addition to show the willing or unwilling responses from components.
Introduction:
The characteristics and social-cultural occasions of the society are reflected in the literary work, and the sociology of literature examines its importance, because the originality of the sociology of literature is in establishing and explaining the relations between the society and the literary work. Ideology is found in concepts like power and culture that create a system for a person to understand her world based on its imposed view (See: Bakhtiari, 2012: 8). Furthermore, man is actually a slave of the system that ideology imposes on him. In addition to that, people who think beyond their time, express the contradiction of ideology with their genius and try to make the majority aware. Goldman (1377: 98) says: the writer reflects the society and seeks its transformation; Therefore, the current short story Shabhaye Varamin by Sadegh Hedayat's tells the social and cultural events of the late Qajar and early Pahlavi eras. It criticizes the dominant discourse of the Qajar era and, in some places, it is associated with the ideology of the Pahlavi era, which can be examined from the perspective of the theory of ideology.
Methodology:
The literary text highlights the dominant discourse of the era, and Sadegh Hedayat criticizes the dominant discourse of the Qajar era in Shabhaye Varamin. Furthermore, in some places, it is associated with the ideology of the Pahlavi era. Therefore, this research shows the theoretical indicators of ideology in the story of Varamin's Nights which is an overview of the social situation of the author's time. The concern and conflict is with some parts of the popular beliefs, its orientation with the dominant discourses, ideologies of the late Qajar era, and the beginning of Pahlavi period in the concepts. Furthermore, he explained the examples related to the mentioned theory with an interdisciplinary approach based on the theory of ideology in a descriptive-analytical way.
Results and Discussion:
The crystallization of ideology, the reconstruction of ideology, the effect of ideology, the language of ideology, and the association with the dominant ideology of the Qajar and Pahlavi era have been categorized based on the theory of ideology in the story of Shabhaye Varamin in this research.
The dominant discourse of the Qajar era and the first Pahlavi
Superstitions penetrated the levels of Qajar era society and people turned to superstitious beliefs. The dominant ideology is a superstition that has no religious or scientific basis and only leads people to ignorance and lack of information. Sadegh Hedayat has challenged superstition as the dominant discourse of Qajar era and the first years of the first Pahlavi regime in his works. Also, the strong antiquarian sentiments of the first Pahlavi era influenced Hedayat, as he shows his opposition to the Arab invasion of Iran in his works and converges with the prevailing ideology.
Theory of ideology and Varamin Nights
The realistic story of Varamin's Nights is about the life of Fereydoun and his wife Farangis, which has criticized the direction of the social environment by creating the personality type of Fereydoun and Farangis, Fereydoun has returned from Switzerland and represents the educated class. Furthermore, he opposes and resists many traditions of his age. Farangis and other characters represent the common people in front of Fereydon, and the superstitions have covered their lives.
Crystallization of ideology
Superstitions are the dominant discourse of the Qajar era, as all the characters in the story of “Shabhaye Varamin” are influenced by this ideology, with the exception of Fereydoun, which has shown its guidance in several categories: a) Belief in the part that is the justification for individual and collective failures and negligence. Farangis suffers from a heart disease and postpones the visit to the doctor until later (see: Hedayat, 1952: 125), b) Having a twin: a folk belief that a twin is with everyone from birth, as Nastaran calls for the sound of Gholnaz instrument. He attributes it to Hamzad Faringis (see: ibid.: 131), c) Making untimely prayers, as prayer writers and reciters have special influence and respect among people (see: Rahmanian, 1392: 31), they make people forget and take advantage of the most subtle acts of worship such as prayers and supplications (see: Hedayat, 1952: 131) ); d) Belief in jinn and fear of it are widespread in popular beliefs, as they are afraid of mentioning its name (see: ibid.) and e) the death of domestic animals, which were thought to be evil-doers (see: ibid.).
Reconstruction of ideology
The dominant discourse is reproduced in internal and subtle ways, as it dominates the individual's belief and aligns it with the majority. Farangis has a lot to do with playing the instrument in Homayun's traditional Iranian system. However, Fereydoun, despite his attachment to it, does not want Farangis to teach Golnaz to play the instrument (see: Hedayat, 1952:122). At the end of the story, he sees Golnaz playing the same traditional instrument. Farangis has transferred his thinking and the comprehensive ideology of the society to Golnaz by teaching him how to play the traditional music system, and despite Fereydoun's advice, he has helped the cycle of producing and strengthening the dominant discourse.
The influence of ideology
Ideology targets people in the society, and the critic of ideology who does not believe in its foundations and principles is unintentionally affected by it. Fereydoun, the main character and critic of the social atmosphere in the story of “Shabhaye Varamin,” is in contradiction with the dominant ideology. Somewhere in the story, however, under the conditions of tangible fear and terror, it seems as if he withdraws from his beliefs and goes along with the claims of others (see: Hedayat, 1952: 13). Precisely, he feels the influence of the thought and ideology accepted by the majority.
Language and ideology
Language and ideology are in strong association with each other and the way of using the language of words is a the interpretation of texts, and this rule is evident in Shabhaye Varamin. As an instance, "Everyone thought that Fereydoun had become a genie, but he had gone mad" (Hedayat, 2012: 139). At the end of the story, it shows that Fereydoun undergoes a transformation of character, where the narrator equates two ideologies and ways of thinking by using the two words "genie" and "crazy" in the stated sentence. These two words have the same meaning on the surface, but from the perspective of the discourses that have produced and raised them, they carry a different meaning.
dominant ideology
The prevailing ideology is threatened by opposing ideologies, as Fereydoun is faced with a terrifying scene in his dream (see: Hedayat, 1952: 137) and his dream can refer to the collective unconsciousness of the Iranian people and the story of the Arab invasion and their oppression (see: Hedayat, 1952: 136). Therefore, the author's descriptions reveal her inner feelings and are a proof of her association with the wave of anti-Arabism and anti-Arabism of Reza Shah's era and her support for the said ideology.
Conclusion:
The honest narrative techniques of Sadiq Hedayat in “Shabhaye Varamin” are compatible with the theoretical foundations and principles of ideology. This can be exemplified by the typification of characters which is one of the tricks of the author in this story, who has tried to make the audience as much close as possible to the popular culture and superstitious beliefs of the society of his time in the era. Hedayat has considered superstitions as an obstacle to the progress of Iranian society and has put them in the center of his critical view in a systematic way. The reconstruction and reproduction of ideology, the relationship between language and ideology and its crystallization in the function of the author's vocabulary in the narrative of the story is one of the important components of “Shabhaye Varamin”. The author sometimes dominates the ideology of the first Pahlavi era; That is, the antiquarianism and thinking of Reza Shah and his relatives are shown closely and in his language, although his main fight with superstition is in the Qajar era, the effects of which can be seen in the early years of the first Pahlavi rule.