Document Type : Original Article
Authors
Department of Persian Language and Literature, Al-Mustafa Open University, Al-Mustafa International University, Qom, Iran.
Abstract
Female identity refers to an individual’s personal perception of themselves as women, which can be consistent with or different from their biological sex at birth. This identity is formed based on the individual’s perceptions, feelings, and experiences about being a woman and can include different aspects such as roles, behaviors, values, and characteristics related to women. During the emergence of literature and the creation of their literary works and masterpieces, the masters of Persian literature and poetry have spoken loudly in describing women, praising their love and beauty, and appreciating their high position, and have called women the preservers of ethnic and racial identity and values. Two of these great poets are Ferdowsi and Iranshah ibn Abi al-Khair. The purpose of this research is to conduct a comparative study of recognizing women’s identity in Shahnameh and Kushnameh. This study attempted to shed light on various manifestations of women's identity in mythological, heroic, and historical periods by analyzing the different roles and influences of women in these two works. In this study, first, a brief look at the definition of epic and the position of epic texts in Persian literature is given, then a brief introduction of Shahnameh and Kushnameh and the position of women in these works is given; finally, an analysis of the characteristics and duties of women in these two epics is presented.
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