The thoughtful, provoking, and sensitive novel Savushun is considered the masterpiece of Persian author Simin Daneshvar (1921–2012). The novel has sold more than any other work in Iran since its publication (the English translation was in 1991). The work depicts the tense living conditions of a family in Shiraz, Fars Province, during World War II when foreign troops were present in Iran.
The major character is a middle-class woman, Zari, who is educated at a missionary school. The story is told from her perspective. She lives with her landowner husband, Yusof, and their three children in Shiraz in a beautiful big house. She is quite obedient and submissive to her husband, yet she has her moments of doubt and despair about her life, thoughts that echo in many educated Iranian women. The time is spring 1943 and the Allies have occupied parts of Iran. The encamped armies want to take all available crops, but Yusof does not want to hand the harvest over to feed an occupying army since his own peasants will starve. Yusof opposes the presence of the foreign armies and Iranian collaborators. On the other hand, his older brother is politically ambitious and cooperates with the foreign army officials to secure a position in the local government, which was almost completely controlled by the British during the war.
Simin Daneshvar / The Times
Zari fears for the life of her family and tries to avoid confrontations. She respects her husband’s ideals yet is frightened of the outcome. The story opens with Zari and Yusof at the wedding party of the daughter of the governor of Shiraz. Zari is tricked into handing over her emerald earrings to the bride and Yusof is very angry with her. Later, when he is absent on a trip, the governor sends someone to take away the horse of Khosrow, Zari’s son. She again tries to avoid another confrontation by sending the horse to the governor’s house. Yusof, unfortunately, pays for his views with his life. Zari pours out all her pent-up anger and frustration as the burial procession is stopped by government troops and the mourners are dispersed. Zari and Yusof’s brother are left to carry the body. By the end of the novel, Zari who is pregnant and has faced political plots, typhus, and famine reaches the conclusion that she can no longer be passive and fearful of action. The novel presents the conflict between a desire for peace and tranquility in the face of change. It is an account of one woman’s rite of passage while traditionally she is prescribed roles of wife, mother, and provider of charity.
Persian folklore, myth, social events, traditional customs, and beliefs are woven into early 20th-century setting in this work. The title of the novel refers to an ancient ritual of mourning in which the participants lament the betrayal and death of Siyavush, an Adonis figure from Ancient Iran. Siyavush was accused by his stepmother of wanting to rape her and he had to pass through an ordeal of fire to prove his innocence. Finally, he had to leave Iran and go to a neighboring country where he was killed. From his blood grew a green plant, maidenhair. So Yusof, Zari, and their country must pass through such an ordeal. Just as Siyavush was betrayed and killed by foreigners, so Yusof’s blood is spilled by the enemy. Daneshvar incorporates many of the customs and beliefs of the people of Shiraz into the novel and makes use of the Shirazi dialect to portray a realistic novel. She has also presented a variety of female characters, from the aristocratic intriguing lady who plots to take away her earrings to Yusof’s mother, who has faced much hardship. Nearly half a century after it was published, Savushun remains one of the best sellers in Iran.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Daneshvar, Simin. Savushun: A Novel about Modern Iran. Translated by M. R. Ghanoonparvar. Washington, D.C.: Mage, 1991.
Talattof, Kamran. The Politics of Writing in Iran: A History of Modern Persian Literature. Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, 2000.
Categories: Iranian Literature, Literature, Novel Analysis
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