نقد قدرت با کاربست مفاهیم زیست‌بومی (مطالعۀ موردی: سه داستان کوتاه از صادق چوبک)

As a hidden force, power plays a role in the creation of works of art. In many cases, by using ecological concepts, writers attempt to restore the power that has been taken away from society and assume the role of political activists. From Foucault's perspective, this power belongs to everything and everyone. Among contemporary writers, Sadegh Chubak’s use of nature and ecosystem concepts to challenge the power discourse of the center has been unique and significant. In Chubak’s thinking, political issues are often reflected through biological matters. In the following article, three short stories by Chubak including; "Why Did the Sea Become Stormy?", "The Cage," and "Antari ke looti-ash morde bood" are analyzed from the perspective of Foucault’s power discourse theory, demonstrating how Chubak takes refuge in nature and the ecosystem to resist domination. The discourse of power that enforces tame and obedient subjects escapes her. She attempts to diminish the disciplinary controls that have gripped the soul of her society by relying on ecological principles. Chubak also establishes a strong connection between the concepts of gender and power. By linking gender with the fundamentals of indigenous life, he challenges male hegemony to balance power and clarify that power is not exclusive to any one person or institution; rather, everyone is a prisoner of it.
Introduction
Sadegh Chobak is a writer who has established a strong connection between ecological principles and political action. As an activist, he has used the environment and its elements to restore power to society and reclaim its forgotten identity. When discussing the complex concept of power, the first name that comes to mind is Michel Foucault. From Foucault's perspective, power is pervasive. He views power not in its formal and institutional forms, but rather in its application at the level of human relations, where power assumes a less legal and more diffuse nature (Davoodi, 2011, p. 105).
It is therefore essential to analyze and examine the various forms of power present in the most natural aspects of society—where no overt signs of power are apparent—in order to understand how humans have willingly or unwillingly engaged in the dynamics of power by recognizing both human and non-human elements. According to Gaston Bachelard, despite our reactions to the various elements of nature, what is most evident in these reactions is not the recognition of those elements themselves, but rather the recognition of ourselves through the observation of things with which we particularly identify (14:1400). Chobak aimed to restore this lost identity through ecological principles.
Given that the heroes in his stories sometimes appear in inhuman forms and seemingly lack power, it is necessary to examine this author's works from that perspective. Some researchers argue that environmental forces and instincts drive the heroes in Chobak's stories toward an inevitable fate (Talkhabi and Mohammadi, 2019, p. 78). However, the findings of this study clarify that the heroes are not entirely passive or neutral in the face of this fate; rather, they manifest their power in new forms and, by becoming embodied, take steps to create a rupture in the discourse of power. Similarly, Foucault sought to challenge the body of power by identifying its weaknesses and liberating the oppressed from subjugation.
In the three stories mentioned, it is as if all of the author's pain is reflected in the heart of nature, with nature serving as the language that expresses her inner complexities and narrates her turbulent life. In these stories, nature and the ecosystem function as counter-power institutions, and Chobak, personified as nature, conveys the pain of human hearts.
Research questions
In the forthcoming research, we will aim to provide comprehensive answers to the following questions by emphasizing the role of natural elements and the ecosystem in the three aforementioned fictional works by Sadegh Choubak.
- How are power relations in nature reflected in Chobak's works, and how does Chobak reveal these relations?
- How do non-human characters approach complex power relationships?
- In Chobak's thinking, how has gender become an anti-power factor, and how does Chobak establish a connection between the concepts of gender, ecology, and power?
Theoretical framework and methodology
This article examines three stories that are "Why Did the Sea Storm?", "The Cage," and "Antari ke looti-ash morde bood," using library sources and a descriptive-analytical approach. First, the theoretical foundations of power critique relevant to the research questions are presented from Michel Foucault’s perspective. Then, after analyzing the texts of these stories, the article explores how these foundations are reflected through ecological theories, revealing how Sadegh Chobak moves from ecological principles to critique power and decenter subjects.
Analysis and findings
During the Pahlavi period, alongside efforts to establish a central, authoritative discourse, it is important to consider the strategies employed by writers such as Chobak to challenge this dominant narrative. While some writers and poets directly confronted power and were subsequently silenced, others, like Chobak, chose a different approach by engaging with elements of the natural ecosystem to advance their goals. Chobak’s responses to power, framed within the context of nature and ecology, reveal her opposition to authority and her attempts to undermine it. Through her stories and ecological examples, Chobak demonstrates that power is not confined to a single individual or institution, as Foucault suggests, but must be examined at multiple levels—often in places where power is not immediately apparent. In doing so, Chobak decentralizes subjects and broadens the concept of power.
Results
In all three stories discussed, Chobak employs the foundations of nature and ecology as symbols of resistance against power. The titles of these stories suggest the establishment of systems of domination within society. While opposing power, Chobak challenges its unilateral nature and advocates for a more multifaceted and balanced understanding of power. In the story of "Antari ke looti-ash morde bood", "Antar" accepts the imposition of power by "Looti" but simultaneously resists it through various mechanisms. As "Looti" attempts to conquer Antar's nature, Antar becomes like a fire before him, seizing power from his grasp and thereby escaping subjugation. This power struggle between Antar and Looti illustrates that, in the modern world, humans consider themselves the central authority and oppress those weaker than themselves. If defeated in this struggle, they will redirect their power toward even weaker subjects.
In the story "Why Did the Sea Become Stormy?", Chobak chooses the nature of the sea and the ecosystem as a powerful and pure force to fight against the monotonous, immoral, and patriarchal discourse of her time, which tries to tame and subjugate subjects to act out their lustful instincts, to fight back, and to weaken their power. This power of the ecosystem is a power that can no longer be resisted or suppressed. In this story, by changing the male perspective to a female one, Chobak narrates an image of women's rights being robbed in the form and shape of nature.
In the story of the cage, the roosters, who are dominated and subjects of power, must seemingly be crushed in the face of absolute power; but with their blood being mutated by a superior power, they escape from the cage of absolute and complete power while achieving freedom. This freedom itself is the perfect example of the struggle against power, and the chickens and roosters take revenge on the superior power through this means. In this story, the laying of eggs by chickens while in complete control of power is itself a form of confrontation against power and a declaration of existence.
In the three stories above, Chobak employs gender, framed through the lens of ecology, as an anti-authoritarian force. She clearly understands that by tabooing gender and sexualizing images, she can undermine the ruling authority, diminish its paternalistic power, and harness power to her advantage. By analyzing these stories, we gain insight into how literature can reflect the dominant discourses of an era and depict the diverse responses of writers to those discourses.