Review of the Theme of Silence in My Three Persian Novels

Good evening, everyone. Happy to be here today and to share with you the whispers of silence that echo through my three novels. This is the first time I am talking about my novels publicly. I never accepted any interview in Iran even when my novels were nominated for some literature awards, I did not take part in award ceremonies either. I’ve always believed that when I write, I am already speaking, thus there is no need for any further conversation. However, today marks a new chapter in my manner.

The first novel: Ghrubdar,

The name “Ghrubdar” is a term I created, symbolizing sundown, the moment when night falls. This novel, written when I was 27, explores one day and night of  the life of Gholamreza, a 68-year-old retired teacher, he suffers from sundown syndrome causing him to forget everything after the sun sets and regain his memories when the sun rises again the next day. Sundowning syndrome is a rare psychiatric syndrome in the elderly age.   Behaviors occurring in some older patients, with or without dementia, at the time of nightfall or sunset. Behaviors include confusion, anxiety, agitation, or aggressiveness with increased motor activity like pacing, wandering, resistance to redirection, and increased verbal activity like yelling. The main symptoms are Confusion, Paranoia,Delusions and hallucinations. This process occurs every day with no exception and greatly affects the character and those around him. Gholamreza’s struggle with memory illuminates the pain of identity loss. He becomes a different person at night, a creature that preys on his former self. His granddaughter, Parnian, attempts to bridge the silence through rituals she calls mnemonics. These are memories that remind one of oneself, aiming to restore Gholamreza’s fragmented identity each night.Every day after the sunset, everyone tries to maintain Gholamreza in the best state possible. For instance, they try to remind him of his past and help him remember himself. This narrative highlights the uncontrollable nature of perspective. Much like how we cannot control the sun, our understanding changes with time and circumstances. Day, night, day, night,. A disease, trauma, or sudden emotion can shift our viewpoint and plunge us into silence.

  memory plays a crucial part in the hermeneutics of psychoanalysis” Likewise, Gholamreza’s memory plays a crucial role in the pathology of the sundown syndrome and its treatment by the use of postmodern hermeneutics of narration. Accordingly, Gholamreza’s knowledge of what he knows is positional and depends on the time. When it is time for the sun to set, his memory also goes into a deep sleep, deeper than the darkness itself.  

He is a person with his subjective points of view during the day. Because he has memories of things and people, and he can understand them from his varying points of view. However, when the sun fades away and gives way to darkness, he loses his memories, and therefore, only one point of view remains and that is the dark and ambiguous perspective of an illusional forgetful individual.

if one does not remember an instant, one is not the same self as that at the time of that instance, and if one does not remember anything, one is not anyone in terms of identity.

So in this case of sun downing syndrome,  lack of memory/identity makes you silent, and the sun is out of your control, day, night, day,  might, we are silently suffering, we don’t remember, we don’t recall, we don’t have past, no future, no present also, memory collapsed and memories faded, pain in silent.

In a not shell, if you remember,you are in pain, if you don’t remember, you are in pain, if you have words, you are in pain, if you don’t have words, you are in pain,  day, night, day nigh.

In “Ghrubdar,” the lack of memory equates to a loss of identity, leading to a profound silence—a continuous cycle of day and night, where memory collapses and pain persists.

The second novel: Panjshab

Panjshab,” meaning “Five Nights,” delves into the mind of an anonymous narrator confined in a mental hospital or prison, we are not sure about it, until the end of the novel, we understand the narrator is narrating for a psychotherapist or an interrogator, about the five nights he passed.  during these five days, they review some memories, some fights, and some facts.The narrative is fraught with censorship and paranoia, symbolizing the silence imposed by external forces. The protagonist, referred to as the “big hen,” censors themselves, fearing correction or deletion of their words. The hen is not a real hen, but a hen-like human has found the identity of a hen. The state of delusion blurs reality, making the narrator unreliable. The climax involves a football match where the protagonist’s mind is metaphorically prepared to be a ball, symbolizing how systems can strip away one’s identity. Or probably he is under torture and he experiences that as being a soccer ball.

Actually Who in the current situation, can admit without any doubt that his identity has remained pure and intact?  We are all the big hen,  with the identity of a soccer ball. people need the ball to play, the player needs to play, and the field needs players, and we are the ones who have provided everything.

The protagonist’s identity is fragmented, mirroring the silence that censorship imposes. The narrative concludes with the protagonist writing a letter, riddled with deleted and crossed-out words, further emphasizing the act of silence.

 The third novel: Qahqaheh Castle

 Ismaiel II, the Persian prince, in the Safavid Dynasty of the 16th century, was imprisoned in Ghahghahe Castle (in Meshkin Shahr, Iran) by His father, King Tahmasb I, for nineteen years and six months and twenty days. His father was fearful of his insane courage, poetic imagination, and popularity among Iranian people; a poet who turned a killer after getting out of prison. The Ghahghahe castle was a political prison, specifically for artists who rebelled against the central government, a castle without any paper or scroll for writing on, Shah Tahmasb forbade any writing martial be available for artists and they cut all the book merges also. The Safavid dynasty was the beginning of the Islamic governmental foundation in Iran, and artists whose work was not aligned with their ideology would be in danger.

This novel is the first and only novel in the whole of Iran’s history written about Ismail II and his life based on the archive, until now. In addition, there are no movies or TV series based on what happens to Ismael.

The implication of silence in this novel is the prison castle without paper, full of artists as prisoners, The silence in this story stems from the absence of creative outlets. what painters can do? what poets can do? What authors can do? What musicians can do? what calligraphers can do? without any paper.

The narrative is based on three narrators. One main narrator writes the story, one narrator is Ismail, and one narrator is another prisoner in confinement nowadays Iran who is reading the history of confinement. The last two narrators write on the margent of the book: on the top margent and bottom margent. . What can artists do without paper? This enforced silence stifles creativity and expression specifically how the father makes his son silent/voiceless

Ismail’s tale is one of poetic imagination turned into madness, a silent struggle against oppression. The castle symbolizes a historical site of silence, where political prisoners were left voiceless.

Qahqaheh Castle is a historical structure located near Meshkin Shahr in the Ardabil province of Iran. This castle has a rich history that dates back to before the Safavid era, but it gained particular prominence during the 16th century. Ghahghahe Castle was known for its strategic importance due to its location on a high rocky mountain, which made it nearly impregnable and an ideal place for a fortress or a prison for confinement.  it is acknowledged that it served various dynasties over the centuries, including the Safavids. In the time of the Safavids, particularly during the 16th century, the political atmosphere in Iran involved substantial consolidation of power by Shah Ismail I (the founder of the Safavid Empire) and his successors.   Figures who posed a threat to the central authority or who rebelled against the Shah (King) were often imprisoned, and formidable fortresses like Ghahghahe Castle served as places where political prisoners were confined. However, historical records from that period are complex, and the extent to which Ghahghahe Castle specifically served as a political prison during the 16th century may not be fully detailed in the available literature. Nowadays, the castle is a site of historical significance.   

I wrote Ghorubdar when I was almost 27.  It was published 4 years and a half later. During those years I wrote my second novel, Five nights, then my first novel was published, While waiting for my second novel to be published, I wrote my third novel. My third novel was not published yet when I started writing my fourth novel. you see I get used to silence, if an unpublished novel or not allowed to be published, can be considered as a silent book.

In conclusion, silence permeates all my novels, manifesting as memory loss, censorship, and enforced creativity. It is an endless cycle of pain and identity fragmentation, echoing the silent struggles we face in our daily lives.

Thank you