The Tragedy of a Gaze: A Critical Analysis of Bozorg Alavi’s Her Eyes

Abstract

This study examines the representation of “body-centered dimensions” and “climatic suffering” in the stories of Mahmoud Dowlatabadi from the perspective of Gérard Genette’s theory of focalization. Despite the significance of the body and climate in contemporary Iranian literature, as well as the theoretical attention devoted to the concept of focalization, no independent study has analyzed these two concepts in Dowlatabadi’s works by employing Genette’s systematic framework of focalization and complementing it with Michael Toolan’s theory of orientation. In Dowlatabadi’s short stories, the “body” is prominently represented as the locus of lived experience, while “climate” functions as a determining factor in shaping the characters’ destinies. Analyzing how these dimensions are focalized within the narrative can contribute substantially to a deeper understanding of Dowlatabadi’s narrative techniques and his artistic representation of Iranian lived experience. This study employs a descriptive-analytical method. It seeks to demonstrate how Dowlatabadi, through the deliberate use of focalization mechanisms, moves the “body” and “climate” beyond their merely biological or geographical meanings and transforms them into key elements in the construction of the fictional world and the characters’ lived experiences. The findings also help explain how narrative choices concerning focalization influence readers’ perceptions of bodily and climatic suffering and their ideological dimensions, thereby revealing deeper layers of meaning in Dowlatabadi’s works.