A Comparative Study of Modality and Gender in "The King and the Handmaiden" and "The Caliph and the Bedouin" in the Masnavi and "The Wife of Bath" and "The Knight" in the Canterbury Tales based on the perspective of Gérard Genette.

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 PhD student in Persian Language and Literature, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, South Khorasan, Birjand, University of Birjand, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Department of Persian Language and Literature,

2 Professor, University of Birjand

3 Assistant Professor, University of Birjand

10.22126/rp.2026.12966.2199

Abstract

The objective of this research is to examine the relationship between the element of modality and gender in the tales of "The King and the Handmaiden" and "The Caliph and the Bedouin" from the Masnavi, and "The Wife of Bath" and "The Knight" from the Canterbury Tales, utilizing a comparative-analytical method. Given that gender is socially constructed and pertains to the social, cultural, and psychological differences between men and women, the perspectives of the Wife of Bath and Emilia in the Canterbury Tales, and those of the handmaiden and the Bedouin woman in the Masnavi, portray women's standpoint in society. The research findings indicate that the viewpoints of the Wife of Bath and the Bedouin woman do not align with the women in British and Iranian Society: according to the perspective of the Wife of Bath and the Bedouin woman, a woman is an active being who shapes the society before her. But, from the viewpoint of Emilia in the Canterbury Tales and the handmaiden in The Masnavi, a woman is a passive being for whom decisions can be made. Another point is that with the maximum presence of the narrator in these stories, the narrative genre prevails. Of course in the story of "The Caliph and the Bedouin," the dramatic mode prevails due to the high frequency of direct dialogue.

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Main Subjects

Research in Narrative Literature

Articles in Press, Corrected Proof
Available Online from 10 May 2026

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