The Intertwining of Past and Present: The Reflection of ‎Memory and Dream in the Surreal Narrative of Maedeh ‎Mortazavi’s The Nightmares of the Orange Tree

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 PhD student in the Department of Persian Language and Literature at Payame Noor University - Tehran - Iran

2 the master of Payam noor uiversity

3 Associate Professor in the Department of Persian Language and Literature, Payame Noor University - Tehran - Iran.

4 Assistant Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature, Payam Noor, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Within the context of contemporary Persian literature, this work ‎delves into the individual and collective unconscious through surreal ‎elements and, via symbols such as the orange tree, portrays ‎concepts such as emotional bonds, existential anxieties, and the ‎search for identity.The aim of this research is to analyze how the ‎convergence of past and present is structured within the novel and ‎to examine the role of elements such as space (the family home), ‎memory, and dreams in shaping the surreal experience. The central ‎research question asks how the protagonist’s (Hedieh’s) return to ‎the ancestral home activates memories, stimulates dreams, and ‎leads to the symbolic reappearance of figures from the past, ‎thereby blurring the boundaries between reality and fantasy within ‎the narrative structure.This study adopts a descriptive-analytical ‎approach, drawing on theories of narratology, analytical ‎psychology (concepts of the unconscious and regression), and ‎semiotics. The data have been extracted and analyzed through a ‎close reading of the novel’s text, focusing on the structure and ‎elements of surrealism. The findings indicate that the ancestral ‎home is not merely a physical setting, but acts as a catalyst for the ‎emergence of dreams and memories; the simultaneous presence of ‎past characters demonstrates the fusion of temporalities and the ‎overflow of the individual unconscious. This not only generates a ‎surreal and dream-like atmosphere within the text, but also, by ‎revealing secrets and confronting repressed experiences, leads to a ‎deeper understanding of the protagonist’s individual and social ‎identity, facilitating inner healing and acceptance of new ‎circumstances.

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Main Subjects

Research in Narrative Literature

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 09 July 2025

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