THE FOOTPRINTS OF SHAHNAMEH IN WORLD LITERATURE: A REVIEW OF THE TWO NOVELS “PERSIAN GAMES” AND “THE LAST ILLUSION”

Arab Yusefabadi, Abdul Basit; Fatollahi, Moslem

doi:10.22034/jsbs.2025.499042.1064

THE FOOTPRINTS OF SHAHNAMEH IN WORLD LITERATURE: A REVIEW OF THE TWO NOVELS “PERSIAN GAMES” AND “THE LAST ILLUSION”

Document Type : Review Article

Authors

Abdul Basit Arab Yusefabadi ¹

Moslem Fatollahi ²

¹ Department of Arabic Language and Literature, University of Zabol, Zabol, Iran.

² English Department, University of Zabol, Iran

10.22034/jsbs.2025.499042.1064

Abstract

Shahnameh is one of the masterpieces of Persian literature and a document of Iranian identity. Iranians have devoted themselves to reading and rereading Shahnameh for centuries, and have given new and different interpretations of this magnificent work, and sometimes have revived the ancient themes of Shahnameh. The aim of this article is to review the influence of Shahnameh on the novel "Al-A'ab al-Farsiyyah" by the Egyptian writer Ahmed Khaled Tawfik and the novel "The Last Illusion" by the Iranian-American writer Porochista Khakpour. In this regard, the grounds and reasons for the influence of Shahnameh on the two aforementioned works were analyzed and compared based on the approach of Rene Wellek and the French school of comparative literature. A review of the two aforementioned novels showed that despite some similarities between the two works, the major differences between them can be attributed to the different perspectives of their writers. The novel "Persian Games" is written from the perspective of an Egyptian physician who, by resorting to Shahnameh, portrays the past, history, and mythology of another nation (Iran) for the Egyptian people, while the novel "The Last Illusion" is written by an Iranian-born writer who seeks to recover her lost Iranian identity in Ferdowsi's Shahnameh and build a bridge between her present and her past. Nevertheless, the influence of Shahnameh myths on two literary works of recent decades in two corners of the world is evidence of the dynamism and vitality of Shahnameh and the existence of universal moral and human values in this noble work that continues to inspire writers around the world.

Keywords

Shahnameh

World literature

" Persian Games"

" The Last Illusion"

چکیده: شاهنامه یکی از شاهکارهای ادبیات فارسی و سند هویت ایرانی است. ایرانیان قرن‌ها به خواندن و بازخوانی شاهنامه دل سپرده‌اند و تفسیرهای نو و متفاوتی از این اثر عظیم ارائه داده‌اند و گاه درون‌مایه‌های کهن شاهنامه را احیا کرده‌اند. این مقاله با هدف بررسی تأثیر شاهنامه بر رمان «الألعاب الفارسیه» اثر نویسنده مصری، احمد خالد توفیق و رمان «آخرین فریب» اثر نویسنده ایرانی-آمریکایی، پوروچیستا خاکپور نگاشته شده است. در این راستا، زمینه‌ها و دلایل تأثیرگذاری شاهنامه بر دو اثر مذکور بر اساس رویکرد رنه ولک و مکتب فرانسوی ادبیات تطبیقی تحلیل و مقایسه شده است. بررسی دو رمان مذکور نشان داد که علیرغم برخی شباهت‌ها میان دو اثر، تفاوت‌های عمده بین آن‌ها را می‌توان به تفاوت نگاه نویسندگانشان نسبت داد. رمان «بازی‌های فارسی» از منظر یک پزشک مصری نوشته شده که با تمسک به شاهنامه، گذشته و تاریخ و اسطوره‌های ملتی دیگر (ایران) را برای مردم مصر به تصویر می‌کشد، حال آنکه رمان «آخرین فریب» به قلم نویسنده‌ای ایرانی‌تبار است که در شاهنامه فردوسی به دنبال بازیابی هویت ایرانی ازدست‌رفته‌اش است و می‌خواهد پلی بین حال و گذشته خود بزند. با این حال، تأثیر اسطوره‌های شاهنامه بر دو اثر ادبی از دو دهه اخیر در دو سوی جهان، گواهی بر پویایی و حیات شاهنامه و وجود ارزش‌های جهانی اخلاقی و انسانی در این اثر گران‌قدر است که همچنان الهام‌بخش نویسندگان سراسر جهان است.
کلیدواژه: شاهنامه، ادبیات جهان، «بازی‌های فارسی»، «آخرین فریب».

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