Petik.net - The Blind Owl is a novel by Sadegh Hedayat, one of the most influential and celebrated Iranian writers of the 20th century. It is widely regarded as his magnum opus and a landmark of modernist Persian fiction.
The novel is a dark and surreal exploration of the human condition, as the narrator, an unnamed pen case painter, confesses his murderous deeds and his tormented love for a mysterious woman to a shadow on his wall that resembles an owl.
The novel was first published in 1937 in Bombay, India, where Hedayat lived for two years. It was banned in Iran during the reign of Reza Shah, who suppressed any form of dissent or criticism against his rule.
The novel was also considered too pessimistic and depressing for the Iranian public, and some even blamed it for inspiring suicides among its readers.
However, after Reza Shah’s abdication in 1941, the novel was serialized in the daily newspaper Iran and gained widespread acclaim and popularity.
It has since been translated into many languages and has influenced many writers and artists around the world.
The Plot and Themes of The Blind Owl
The novel consists of two parts, each with a different tone and style.
The first part is a nightmarish and hallucinatory account of the narrator’s life, as he recalls his encounters with a woman who resembles his dead cousin, a cackling old man who sells him opium, and a mysterious ethereal city that he visits in his dreams.
The narrator reveals that he has killed the woman and buried her in a cellar, but he is haunted by her image and voice. He also suffers from a split personality, as he sometimes identifies himself as the old man or the woman.
He believes that he is living in a state of death, and that his only salvation is to escape from the cycle of life and reincarnation.
The second part is a more realistic and coherent narrative, but it also contains contradictions and inconsistencies with the first part.
The narrator tells the story of his childhood, his marriage to an unfaithful wife, his obsession with pen case painting, and his eventual murder of his wife after discovering her affair with a butcher.
He also describes his relationship with the woman who resembles his cousin, whom he met at a wedding party and fell in love with.
He claims that she was his soulmate and that they shared a mystical bond. However, he also admits that he never saw her again after their first meeting, and that he only imagined her presence in his life.
The novel explores various themes such as alienation, madness, death, love, identity, memory, and symbolism. The narrator is an isolated and lonely individual who cannot connect with anyone or anything in his society.
He suffers from mental illness and addiction, which distort his perception of reality. He is obsessed with death and the afterlife, which he sees as preferable to the suffering and meaninglessness of life.
He is also torn between his love for the woman who represents his ideal self and his hatred for the woman who represents his actual self.
He uses symbols such as the owl, the pen case, the cellar, and the city to express his inner turmoil and confusion.
The Literary Style and Influence of The Blind Owl
The Blind Owl is considered a masterpiece of modernist Persian literature, as it breaks away from the traditional conventions and norms of Iranian fiction.
Hedayat was influenced by European literature and ideas, especially by writers such as Edgar Allan Poe, Franz Kafka, Rainer Maria Rilke, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, and Sigmund Freud.
He experimented with different techniques such as stream of consciousness, unreliable narration, symbolism, surrealism, expressionism, and existentialism.
He also challenged the dominant social and political values of his time, such as nationalism, religion, patriarchy, and progress.
The novel has had a profound impact on many writers and artists both inside and outside Iran. Some of the notable figures who have acknowledged their admiration or inspiration from The Blind Owl include:
- Albert Camus,
- Henry Miller,
- Jorge Luis Borges,
- Jean-Paul Sartre,
- Salman Rushdie,
- Orhan Pamuk,
- Marjane Satrapi,
- Abbas Kiarostami,
- Mohsen Makhmalbaf,
- Alan Wilson,
- among others.
Conclusion
The Blind Owl is a remarkable work of literature that deserves to be read by anyone who appreciates the power and beauty of language and imagination.
It is a novel that challenges the reader to confront their own fears and desires, their own sanity and madness, their own life and death.
It is a novel that transcends its historical and cultural context and speaks to the universal human condition.