Analysis of Narrative Elements in Children’s Adaptations of the Masnavi from 1981 to 2007

Abstract

Rumi’s Masnavi-ye Ma'navi, one of the most significant narrative and allegorical works of Persian literature, has served as an influential source for the creation and re-creation of children’s and young adult stories in the contemporary period because of its extensive narrative capacities and its diverse ethical, educational, mystical, and humanistic dimensions. The present study aimed to analyze the elements of fiction in children’s stories adapted from the Masnavi between 1981 and 2007 in order to explain how the narrative structure of the Masnavi’s tales was transformed in the process of adaptation for child audiences. This study employed a descriptive-analytical method based on textual analysis of selected works. The findings indicate that, in transferring the tales of the Masnavi into children’s literature, adapters were less concerned with a word-for-word reproduction of the source text and instead adopted a functional reconstruction of narrative elements. At the level of plot, the multilayered and sometimes discontinuous narratives of the Masnavi were generally transformed into linear, condensed, and event-driven structures; in characterization, the number of characters was reduced, while their distinctive traits were emphasized more clearly through action and dialogue. An examination of characterization in children’s stories adapted from the Masnavi further demonstrates that one of the most important structural changes in the adaptation process is the reduction in the number and diversity of characters. By eliminating or merging secondary and minor characters, adapters simplified the character-centered structure of the Masnavi’s narratives and placed greater emphasis on the protagonist and the protagonist’s actions. In addition to reducing the complexity of relationships among characters, this transformation is consistent with the cognitive and narrative characteristics of children’s literature and with the need for concision in storytelling for this age group. In terms of point of view, tone, and language, a tendency toward simplification, intimacy, and greater proximity to the child’s perceptual world is also evident. Moreover, in many examples, complex mystical and epistemological themes have been reinterpreted—while preserving their ethical and humanistic core—into more tangible concepts such as friendship, kindness, rational thinking, honesty, responsibility, and self-knowledge.