Journal of Literary Criticism and Rhetoric

Journal of Literary Criticism and Rhetoric

Political hermeneutic analysis of the stories "The Woman of Many" and "The Children of the People" written by Jalal Al-Ahmad based on Frederick Jameson's theory

Document Type : scientific-research

Author
faezeh arab yousefabadi
Associate Professor of University of Zabol/ University of Zabol
10.22059/jlcr.2025.392584.2052
Abstract
One of the prominent features of committed literature is its reflection of power relations and domination within the social context. In this regard, Zan-e Ziadi (The Superfluous Woman) and Bacheh Mardom (Somebody Else’s Child) by Jalal Al-e Ahmad, as texts depicting various aspects of gender, economic, and social oppression, merit a hermeneutic analysis. This study employs Fredric Jameson’s political hermeneutics to examine how structural inequalities are represented in these two works. Jameson’s theory, with its emphasis on the relationship between texts and ideological structures, enables a critical reading of these stories.This research follows a qualitative and comparative textual analysis. The primary objective is to investigate the reproduction of social domination in these narratives and to explain the role of cultural memory in sustaining female subjugation. The findings indicate that in Zan-e Ziadi, patriarchal dominance leads to the woman’s social exclusion and identity loss, whereas in Bacheh Mardom, economic and capitalist structures commodify motherhood, stripping it of its traditional meaning. Moreover, both stories, by incorporating polyphonic and conflicting discourses, highlight tensions between tradition and modernity and illustrate how cultural memory perpetuates the cycle of female oppression. Thus, this study argues that Al-e Ahmad, through a critical narrative, portrays women’s subjugation not as an individual experience but as a product of historical and social structures.
Keywords
Cultural Memory
Gender Domination
Polyphony
Social Representation
Commodification
References
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  • Receive Date 26 March 2025
  • Revise Date 28 July 2025
  • Accept Date 10 August 2025