Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

• Tuba Mozafari nezhad ¹
• Esmaeil Najar ²

¹ Department of Drama College of Arts Tarbiat Modares University

² Assistant Professor of Drama College of Arts Tarbiat Modares University

Abstract

The present research, with drawing from Gayatri Chakravarty Spivak's theories of "Subaltern Studies", conducts a comparative analysis of two plays: Nine Parts of Desire by Heather Raffo and Mastaneh, the History of the Forgotten by Naghmeh Samini. Spivak believes that comparative studies in world literature, which today are mainly carried out in line with the logic of globalization in the capitalist era, under the domination of world powers, are not a true echo of the history and experiences of the people of that region. She believes that today, the field of literature, only is a tool to maintain the survival of Western powers, and when they intend to study others, they label them as "Third World" and look at them as an undeveloped "other". These criticisms increase when the western world deals with subordinate subjects, especially female gender, because they only present an appearance of the situation of women in the direction of their goals, which ultimately lead to a limited idealistic and essentialist policy. When representing subalterns, especially with the female gender, it only presents a shade of it, for the sake of its own goals, and reaches an idealistic and essentialist policy. But the subaltern subject, when she speaks and acts as a woman, knows that a growing and expanding gender is the best possible state for her. In the shadow of this game, it is unfortunate that another history of the oppressed, which has been neglected, should be revealed by the subjugated and marginalized people. In this research, by studying a selection of Spivak's theoretical works, namely Death of a Discipline (2003), "Can the Subaltern Speak?" (1985) and "Rethinking Comparativism” (2009), it will be illustrated that the Subaltern can express herself and her pure experiences through literature without help, correction, and global powers. . . . .

Keywords

• Subaltern Studies
• Comparative literature
• Gayatri Spivak
• Naghmeh Samini
• Heather Raffo

Main Subjects

• cinema