The Investigation between the Desire to Migrate and Dependence on “Location-specific Assests” among the Stories of Women Fiction Writers from the 70s to the 90s (acc. To Solar Calendar)

This paper investigates the relationship between the desire to migrate and the dependence on “location-specific capital” among the stories of women fiction writers from the 70s to the 90s (acc. to Solar Calendar). The aim of this study is to pursue the relationship between the dependence on “location-specific capital” and the desire to migrate in the inter-subjectivity of the characters of the selected stories as the cultural texts of the society. The methodology applied is analytical-descriptive, and due to its dependence on sociology, it is regarded as an interdisciplinary study. There is a negative correlation between the dependence on location-specific capital and the desire to leave. The more the “dependence” increases, the more the “desire to leave” decreases. Based on the change of the positions between “self” and “other” in the cultural sphere of Iranians in these three decades and due to the change of the role of the extended family- as the most important institution during the 70s- to nuclear and dysfunctional which would finally end in individuals rather than families, in the homelands.
Introduction
This article is an endeavor to examine the relationship between the inclination toward migration and attachment to location-specific Assets in selected short stories and novels by Iranian women fiction writers published from the 1990s to the late 2010s. Migration, as a recurrent and deeply embedded element of Iranian collective consciousness, is approached in this study not merely as a socio-economic phenomenon, but as a cultural, symbolic, and identity-oriented process. Within Iranian society, migration has long functioned as a site of tension between rootedness and mobility, belonging and detachment, continuity and rupture. These tensions are powerfully articulated in contemporary narrative literature, particularly in women’s fiction, where migration is frequently intertwined with questions of selfhood, gender, family, and cultural belonging. By focusing on women writers, this study foregrounds a gender-sensitive perspective on migration. Iranian women, as historical and cultural subjects, encounter social, familial, and ideological structures in ways that differ significantly from those of men. These differences shape how migration is imagined, desired, resisted, or mourned in literary texts. Women’s narratives often register migration not only as a physical movement across borders, but also as an affective and symbolic act that reconfigures identity, relationships, and notions of home. The article therefore seeks to demonstrate how varying degrees of attachment to location-specific capital influence the intensity and direction of characters’ desires to remain in or depart from the homeland. The central argument of the study is that location-specific capital—comprising material, emotional, and symbolic resources that are deeply embedded in a particular socio-cultural and geographical context—plays a decisive role in shaping migratory desire. Through a diachronic analysis of literary texts across three decades, the article shows that transformations in Iranian society, particularly changes in family structure and collective value systems, are closely reflected in women’s narrative representations of migration.
Method
The study adopts a descriptive–analytical methodology within an interdisciplinary framework, drawing primarily on theories from migration studies, cultural sociology, and cultural semiotics. Literary texts are treated as cultural documents that both reflect and reinterpret social realities. The analysis is qualitative in nature and relies on close reading to uncover the symbolic, affective, and narrative dimensions of migration as represented in women’s fiction.
The theoretical foundation of the article is based on the concept of location-specific capital, defined as a set of material and symbolic resources whose transferability to other geographical and cultural contexts is limited or, in many cases, impossible. These resources include family ties, the home, language, religion, collective memory, and affective networks. Unlike economic or professional capital, location-specific capital is deeply rooted in place and derives its value from social embeddedness, cultural continuity, and emotional attachment. In the Iranian context, such forms of capital have traditionally functioned as powerful anchors of identity and belonging.
In addition to location-specific capital, the study employs key concepts from cultural semiotics, particularly the notions of “self” and “other”. The analysis examines how the “self” is constructed in relation to the “other,” often represented as the West or an imagined external world, and how this relational construction shapes migratory desire. Migration is thus analyzed not only as movement toward a physical destination, but also as movement toward an imagined cultural and symbolic space.
The corpus of the study consists of selected short stories and novels by Iranian women fiction writers published during the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s. The selected texts are works in which migration or the desire for migration constitutes a prominent thematic concern.
Many of these works have received literary awards or recognition in major literary forums, a criterion that enhances the analytical depth and literary credibility of the corpus. The diachronic structure of the corpus allows for a comparative analysis of shifting representations of migration across three decades marked by significant social and cultural change in Iran.
Conclusion
The findings of the study reveal a clear inverse relationship between attachment to location-specific Assets and the inclination toward migration. In general, the stronger the characters’ attachment to family, home, language, and collective memory, the weaker their desire to leave the homeland. Conversely, the erosion or weakening of these forms of capital is associated with a stronger inclination toward migration. While this inverse relationship is observable across all three decades under examination, its intensity and narrative articulation undergo notable transformation over time.
In the 1990s, attachment to location-specific capital is depicted as particularly strong. During this decade, the Iranian cultural “self” maintains a central and stable position, while the “other” remains largely peripheral. The family is predominantly represented as an extended structure characterized by strong kinship ties, emotional intimacy, and a pronounced sense of collective belonging. The home functions as a crucial site of memory, identity, and psychological security rather than merely a physical dwelling. In narratives from this period, migration is often portrayed as forced, driven by political pressure or exceptional circumstances, and accompanied by profound feelings of loss, displacement, and longing for return. Characters who migrate frequently experience a sense of exile and emotional rupture, underscoring the enduring power of location-specific capital.
In the 2000s, social and cultural transformations begin to reshape familial structures and interpersonal relationships. The extended family gradually gives way to the nuclear family, and traditional affective bonds are weakened. Characters in this decade are frequently portrayed in states of liminality and ambivalence: they are neither fully anchored in location-specific capital nor entirely detached from it. The desire for migration becomes more pronounced, yet it remains fraught with hesitation, fear, and moral conflict. Migration is imagined as a possible alternative, but one that entails emotional costs, particularly guilt associated with leaving family and homeland behind. The “other” becomes increasingly attractive during this period, although it does not fully replace the cultural “self.”
The 2010s represent the culmination of these transformations. In this decade, individualism increasingly replaces collectivism, and the family is often depicted as fragmented, dysfunctional, or incapable of providing emotional or symbolic support. Characters are more frequently constructed as autonomous individuals rather than as members of a cohesive collective. Attachment to family, home, and traditional social networks is significantly diminished, and location-specific capital either loses its former functionality or is actively rejected. As a result, migration is no longer portrayed primarily as an emergency response or a coerced choice, but rather as a desirable pathway toward liberation, self-realization, and the reconfiguration of personal identity. In many narratives from this period, the “other” partially or fully supplants the “self,” and the destination culture is idealized as a space of possibility and renewal.
A comparative analysis of the three decades demonstrates that transformations in family structure constitute the most significant factor in altering the relationship between attachment to location-specific capital and migratory desire. In the 1990s, extended family networks and strong kinship ties function as effective deterrents to migration. In the 2000s, the weakening of these ties produces ambivalence and increases the appeal of departure. By the 2010s, familial disintegration or dysfunction renders migration a serious and often attractive option.
In conclusion, this study shows that Iranian women’s narrative literature functions as a sensitive and insightful mirror of social and cultural change. Migration in these texts is not merely a matter of spatial displacement, but an identity-driven act shaped through a dynamic interplay between attachment to and rupture from location-specific capital. By foregrounding women’s perspectives and tracing changes across three decades, the article contributes to a deeper understanding of how literature articulates the complex relationships among migration, identity, gender, and belonging in contemporary Iranian society.