Document Type : applied research

Author

• , Zahra NiazAzari,

Associate Professor, Department of Persian language and Literature, ،University of Mazandaran, Babolsar, Iran.

Abstract

This article analyzes the language and expression in the work “Ma’ayeb al-Rijal” (Defects of Men) by Bibi Khanom Esterabadi. As a response to the treatise “Tadhib al-Nisvan” (Discipline of Women) by a Qajar prince, “Ma’ayeb al-Rijal” is one of the prominent prose works of the Constitutional Era. With a woman-centered approach, female solidarity, and boldness in expression, it critiques the social, cultural, and political conditions of its time. The author, by employing a combination of refined literary language, colloquial language, and conversational language, as well as creating linguistic norm-breaking through Arabic grammar rules and foreign languages, has crafted an effective verbal humor. This work, aiming to enlighten women and challenge patriarchal attitudes, addresses issues such as incorrect religious beliefs, unconventional marriage, men’s foul language, poverty and its economic effects on women, men’s problems with deviant companions, and objections to polygamy, holding considerable historical and social value. The present research, relying on linguistic and semantic analysis, has examined the rhetorical techniques and language use in line with Bibi Khanom’s social and cultural objectives in this work.

Keywords

• Ma’ayeb al-Rijal
• Bibi Khanom Esterabadi
• Tadhib al-Nisvan
• Language and Expression
• Satire
• Lampoon
• Iranian Feminism
• Qajar Era
• Constitutional Era
• Critique of Men

Main Subjects

• Rhetoric