A Look at Contemporary Persian Novel Titles

A literary work comes into being with a title of its own. It is usually recognized, admired and remembered in the readers’ world by means of its title. Hence the title of a literary work performs some important functions. First, it reflects and represents the textual content of a literary work. Second, it endows an identity to a literary work. Furthermore, it persuades readers into purchasing a literary work, or borrowing it from a library. In other words, it serves to entrap readers into reading a literary work. Therefore, one must unravel and explore the internal dynamics and diversity of literary titles in the history of Persian literature.
The current research examines the titles of novels in contemporary Persian literature by following the methods of ‘literary dynamism’ (pūyish-shināsaneh). It identifies significant titles from different historical periods of novel writing in Iran, and it undertakes a critical appraisal of these titles. This study benefits from the insights of Gérard Genette who made foundational and original contributions to the theoretical exposition of literary titles. It is also informed by Jacques Derrida’s deconstructive approach, particularly his formulations of ‘binary opposition’ and ‘différance’.
The text cannot come to the world without a title. Therefore, even though a title is on the periphery it is no less important than the text/center; this is what is meant by using ‘binary opposition’ in this context. ‘Différance,’ on the other hand, implies that the meaning of the title of a literary work, in spite of its brevity and variety, is potentially infinite and constantly deferred.
In this context, it is important to pay greater attention to the attributes of the titles than to the demands of a theoretical approach. Instead of subjugating the titles of novel to the demands of a specific theory or approach, this study believes that the titles of novels are capable of both guiding current investigation and providing clues for theoretical extrapolation. Like an honest guide, the titles of novels help us find our way in the deep night of literary texts, and they eventually direct us to the shore of wellbeing. Like a firm anchor, they safeguard novels from the throes of waves in the sea of literary texts, thus saving them from getting submerged and destroyed.