توضیحات

Representation of Women in Novels A Comparative Study of Persian and Translated Novels

The present study is an attempt to investigate the image represented of female and male characters in best-selling novels. Narratives are

believed to play an important role in reinforcing or naturalizing stereotypical images of women and men, since the readers identify themselves with the heroines or heroes of stories. Therefore, the major characters of the best-selling novels written in the past three decades in Iran were analyzed and compared to the major characters of the best-selling translated novels. Each character was analyzed in

Representation of Women in Novels A Comparative Study of Persian and Translated Novels

terms of her/his personality type, sociological role, appearance, gender judgment, concerns, education, relationship and characterization. The data concerning the characters were first tabulated in terms of gender for each book. The male and female characters in translated and non-translated novels were compared with each other in different gender-specific groups.

The results of the overall analysis demonstrated that translated novels can have a reinforcing effect on the stereotypical image of women; however, the reverse is true for male characters. The image represented of male characters in translated novels seems to demystify the stereotypical image of men in Persian novels. In fact the differences between female characters of translated and non-translated novels, between female and male characters of translated novels, and even between female characters of non-translated novels and male

Representation of Women in Novels A Comparative Study of Persian and Translated Novels

characters of translated novels is far less than the gap between female and male characters of non-translated novels. This may be a reflection of the domination of patriarchal attitude in contemporary Persian literature.

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Table of contents

Acknowledgment…………………………………………………………………..i

Abstract…………………………………………………………………………….ii

Table of Contents……………………………….………………………………..iii

List of Tables……………………………………………………………………..vi

Chapter One: Introduction

۱٫۱……. Overview and background of the problem.. 6

۱٫۲……. Statement of the Problem.. 6

۱٫۳……. Significance of the Study. 7

۱٫۴……. Purpose of the Study. 7

۱٫۵……. Research Questions7

۱٫۶……. Research Hypothesis8

۱٫۷……. Theoretical Framework. 8

۱٫۸……. Definition of Key Terms8

۱٫۹……. Scope and Delimitation. 10

۲٫۱……. Introduction. 12

۲٫۲……. Power and Ideology. 12

۲٫۲٫۱٫       Definition of power12

۲٫۲٫۲٫       Definition of ideology. 15

۲٫۲٫۳٫       Common sense. 16

۲٫۲٫۴٫       Naturalization. 19

۲٫۳……. Discourse. 23

۲٫۴……. Narrative. 26

۲٫۴٫۱٫       Definition of narrative. 30

۲٫۴٫۲٫       How narratives work. 34

۲٫۴٫۳٫       Framing narratives in translation. 36

۲٫۵……. Text and Discourse analysis38

۲٫۶……. Critical Discourse Analysis40

۲٫۶٫۱٫       Feminism and CDA.. 43

۲٫۶٫۲٫       Narratology and CDA.. 45

Representation of Women in Novels A Comparative Study of Persian and Translated Novels

۲٫۶٫۳٫       Translation and CDA.. 46

۲٫۷……. Gender. 48

۲٫۷٫۱٫       Gender roles. 54

۲٫۸……. Representation of women in novels56

۲٫۹……. Role analysis62

۲٫۹٫۱٫       Parsons’ model62

۲٫۹٫۲٫       Eysenck’s personality types model64

۲٫۱۰…. Feminism and translation. 65

۲٫۱۰٫۱٫    Metaphors of translation: a gendered view.. 65

۲٫۱۰٫۲٫    Feminist movement and translation. 66

۲٫۱۱…. Feminism and Narratives75

۳٫۱……. Introduction. 78

۳٫۲……. Selection of the corpora. 78

۳٫۳……. Procedure. 79

۳٫۴……. Data Collection and classification. 80

۳٫۵……. Data analysis82

۴٫۱……. Introduction. 84

۴٫۲……. Data Analysis (Corpus 1)84

۴٫۲٫۱٫       First book, non-translated. 84

۴٫۲٫۲٫       Second book, non-translated. 86

۴٫۲٫۳٫       Third book, non-translated. 88

۴٫۲٫۴٫       Fourth book, non-translated. 90

۴٫۲٫۵٫       Fifth book, non-translated. 93

۴٫۲٫۶٫       Sixth book, non-translated. 95

۴٫۳……. Data analysis (Corpus 2)97

۴٫۳٫۱٫       First book, translated. 97

۴٫۳٫۲٫       Second book, translated. 100

۴٫۳٫۳٫       Third book, translated. 103

۴٫۳٫۴٫       Fourth book, translated. 107

۴٫۳٫۵٫       Fifth book, translated. 110

۴٫۳٫۶٫       Sixth book, translated. 112

۴٫۴……. Gender-based analysis117

۴٫۴٫۱٫       Female characters. 117

۴٫۴٫۲٫       Male characters. 122

۴٫۴٫۳٫       Non-translated Persian novels analysis. 127

۴٫۴٫۴٫       Translated novels analysis. 131

۵٫۱……. Introduction. 136

۵٫۲……. Conclusions136

۵٫۳……. Pedagogical implication. 142

۵٫۴……. Suggestion for Further Research. 143

References144

Appendix. 150

Representation of Women in Novels A Comparative Study of Persian and Translated Novels

List of Tables:

Table 4.1. 1. Personality Types, Female Characters………………………………………………………………… 117

Table 4.1. 2. Sociological Roles, Female Characters………………………………………………………………… 118

Table 4.1. 3. Appearance, Female Characters……………………………………………………………………….. 119

Table 4.1. 4. Gender Judgment, Female Characters………………………………………………………………… 119

Table 4.1. 5. Concerns, Female Characters…………………………………………………………………………… 120

Table 4.1. 6. Education, Female Characters………………………………………………………………………….. 120

Table 4.1. 7. Relationship, Female Characters………………………………………………………………………. 121

Table 4.1. 8. Characterization, Female Characters………………………………………………………………….. 121

Table 4.2. 1. Personality Types, Male characters. 122

Table 4.2. 2. Sociological Roles, Male characters. 123

Table 4.2. 3. Appearance, Male characters. 124

Table 4.2. 4. Gender Judgment, Male characters. 124

Table 4.2. 5. Concerns, Male Characters. 125

Table 4.2. 6. Education , Male characters. 125

Representation of Women in Novels A Comparative Study of Persian and Translated Novels

Table 4.2. 7. Relationship, Male characters. 126

Table 4.2. 8. Characterization, Male characters. 126

Table 4.3. 1. Personality Types, Persian Novels. 127

Table 4.3. 2. Sociological Roles, Persian Novels. 127

Table 4.3. 3. Appearance, Persian Novels. 128

Table 4.3. 4. Gender Judgment, Persian Novels. 129

Table 4.3. 5. Concerns, Persian Novels. 129

Table 4.3. 6. Education, Persian Novels. 129

Table 4.3. 7. Relationship, Persian Novels. 130

Table 4.3. 8. Characterization, Persian Novels. 130

Table 4.4. 1. Personality Types, Translated Novels. 131

Table 4.4. 2. Sociological Roles, Translated Novels. 131

Table 4.4. 3. Appearance, Translated Novels. 132

Table 4.4. 4. Gender Judgment, Translated Novels. 132

Table 4.4. 5. Concerns, Translated Novels. 133

Table 4.4. 6. Education, Translated Novels. 133

Table 4.4. 7. Relationship, Translated Novels. 134

Table 4.4. 8. Characterization, Translated Novels. 134

Chapter one

Introduction

۱٫۱٫         Overview and background of the problem

Translation has been historically defined in gendered terms at least as early as seventeenth century, when the famous tag “les belles infidels” was coined by Gillen Menage around 1654 (Baker 1998).

Research in translation has developed in many aspects since then but the role of it in maintaining unequal power relation has been rarely scrutinized.

Literature, especially popular literature plays an important role in reinforcing or naturalizing special images. In many books, there is a hero, a protagonist whose characteristics implies the qualities of an appraised person. So literature can be suggestive of the qualities that are believed to be praiseworthy or the other way around, it can suggest what characteristics are reprehensible and in doing so, it can take or

Representation of Women in Novels A Comparative Study of Persian and Translated Novels

imply positions, and reveal ideological stands. Translated literature, as a part of the literary polysystem has the same function. This ideological aspect of literature is rarely investigated.

The process of selecting books to be translated, be it conscious or unconscious, can affect the common belief as to what is praiseworthy or reprehensible. with regard to this study, translated books and the process of their selection can affect the position of women in society through propagating special characteristics which define “good/bad woman/man”, “good/bad wife/husband”, “good/bad mother/father” etc.

۱٫۲٫         Statement of the Problem

The researcher assumes that the image of woman presented in books published in Iran is compatible with the needs of a patriarchal society. The defining characteristics of “good woman” etc. are determined according to the belief of the dominant bloc which are essentially patriarchal. By reading the books which present a stereotypical image of women once and again, we are forced to believe that this is a

Representation of Women in Novels A Comparative Study of Persian and Translated Novels

reality, that a good woman should be like the heroine of the book and a good man should act and behave like the hero. If the novels translated in our country show the same thing, then this stereotypical image becomes more and more vivid. But if the translated novels show a different image, then the readers come to think about the underlying justification for the accepted stereotypes.

۱٫۳٫         Significance of the Study

As mentioned before, the process of selecting books to be translated is ideological. This process can be conscious or unconscious, but anyway it affects the society. The significance of this study is to make people conscious of this ideological process that can contribute to the domination of some people by others “because consciousness is the first step toward emancipation” (Fairclough 1989:1)

۱٫۴٫         Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study is to investigate the image presented of women in the books (translated and non-translated) and to see whether the image presented in the translated books are compatible or incompatible with the image presented in the books originally written in Persian so as to see the role of translation in reinforcing or naturalizing stereotypical gendered image.

۱٫۵٫         Research Questions

In this study the researcher wants to find answers to the following questions:

۱٫ Has translation of foreign novels contributed to reinforcing stereotypical image of women and men in Iran? If yes, how?

Representation of Women in Novels A Comparative Study of Persian and Translated Novels

۲٫ How has the process of selecting novels to be translated changed over time, from 1357 to 1386, regarding the image presented of female and male characters?

۱٫۶٫         Research Hypothesis

Based on the above questions the following hypothesis was developed for the first question:

Translation has contributed to reinforcing stereotypical gendered image of women and men.

۱٫۷٫         Theoretical Framework

This study attempts to use the existing models as far as possible, however, in some cases, the researcher was forced to classify the collected data into categories which contribute to stereotyping gendered images but not specified in the models reviewed for this research.

The model built for the purpose of this study consists of 8 parts. First, the psychological model of Eysenck is used. Then, the sociological model of Parsons, as developed by Chalabi, is used. After that, characters are analyzed on the basis of their appearance, gender-judgments, concerns, education, relationships and characterization. A more detailed description of the model used for present thesis will come in third chapter. This study has attempted to be completely descriptive.

۱٫۸٫         Definition of Key Terms

Power: as set force by More and Hendry (cited in Thomas and Wareing, 1999: 10), power is the force in society that gets things done, and by studying it, we can identify who controls what, and for whose benefit.

Gender: the term gender is used here to refer to the socially determined distinction between males and females. The term sex on the other hand is reserved for the straightforward biological distinction between women and men (cited in Thomas and Wareing, 1999: 10).

Ideology: “any constellation of beliefs or ideas, bearing on an aspect of social reality which are experienced as fundamental or commonsensical and which can be observed to play a normative role” (Verschueren cited in Perez 2003: 5).

Common sense: common sense is an effect of power; what comes to be common sense is to a large extent determined by who holds

Representation of Women in Novels A Comparative Study of Persian and Translated Novels

power and domination (Fairclough 1989:92).

Naturalization: “naturalization is the royal way to common sense.” As the discourse types become naturalized, the ideology they imply becomes common sense. This process depends on the power of the social groupings whose ideologies and discourse types are at issue. (Fairclough 1989: 95).

Narrative: Narratives “constitute crucial means of generating, sustaining, mediating and representing conflict at all level of social organization (Briggs 1996 cited in Baker 2006:3).

Feminist CDA: Feminist CDA is concerned with unequal gendered power relations and forms of empowerment in texts

Gender roles: Most women show certain behavioral, emotional, logical and moral characteristics which identify them as female. The same is true about men being identified as male. All these characteristics are called “gender roles” (Maghsoudi 2003: 46).

۱٫۹٫         Scope and Delimitation

This study is carried out on bestseller novels, written in Persian or translated to Persian between years 1357 – ۱۳۸۶٫ If any other criteria for choosing the corpus were utilized, different results were possible.

The major characters are chosen by the researcher and the model used in this study is not a standard model. As an example, children were put out of analysis. Furthermore, the characters could be analyzed on the basis of other characteristics such as their intellectual level, the decision-making ability etc. which could lead to different results.

Representation of Women in Novels A Comparative Study of Persian and Translated Novels 

Representation of Women in Novels A Comparative Study of Persian and Translated Novels

Chapter two

Review of the related literature

Representation of Women in Novels A Comparative Study of Persian and Translated Novels 

۲٫۱٫         Introduction

In this chapter, a general review of works done in the field related to this study is provided. Works related to power, ideology, narratives, feminism, translation, literature and other areas related to representing male and female characters are studied.

۲٫۲٫         Power and Ideology

۲٫۲٫۱٫     Definition of power

To begin with, let’s refer to some definitions of power. Power is an abstract concept, but it is generally agreed that it has an undeniable influence on our lives. More and Hendry (1982:127 cited in Wareing 1999:10) describe power as: “…The force in society that gets things

done, and by studying it, we can identify who controls what and for whose benefit.”

In his book “Power: A Radical View” Steven Lukes (1974:184 cited in Asiai 2006:51) describes power as follows: if A forces B to comply with her/his desire when it is not B’s desire as well, then power is applied. In other words, power is the ability to apply something that was otherwise inapplicable (my translation). He asserts that the “supreme exercise of power involves shaping and influencing another party’s

Representation of Women in Novels A Comparative Study of Persian and Translated Novels

desires and needs in a way to avert observable conflict”, i.e. using power to prevent conflict from happening in the first place (Lukes 1974:23 cited in Baker 2006:1).

Lukes (1974: 184 cited in Baker 2006:1) differentiates between three kinds of power. The first one is decision making; the second one is arranging the work schedule and the third kind which is the focus of this thesis is “mind control”. In the first two kinds, there is an

unspoken presupposition: that societies, groups and people are independent and free to make decisions based on their interests. Even if these decisions are not put into practice, it makes no difference. But the fact is that if we take a decision-making person out of the context

Representation of Women in Novels A Comparative Study of Persian and Translated Novels

in which s/he is situated, we will reach a picture in vacuum, and all the results drawn from such a picture is fundamentally uncertain. Family, school, mass media and social groups, all act as the context which is responsible for the formation of people’s believes and values (My translation).

In “One-Dimensional Man”, Marcuse (1964:184 cited in Asiai 2006:51) discusses the third kind of power. He believes that advanced industrial societies, unlike the past totalitarian societies such as Nazi Germany and socialist Russia which used to clamped down on their

citizens by applying terror and violence, control their people by modern technology and by manipulating their needs. Therefore, the nonexistence of struggle is not a sign of balanced power distribution, but it shows the degree of success with………………….

Representation of Women in Novels A Comparative Study of Persian and Translated Novels

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