The Analysis of Patterns of Governance and the Organization of Affairs in Laki Folktales (Case Studies: “Malek Khorshid,” “Malek Jamshid,” “Shahr-e Khamooshan,” “Malek Mohammad,” “Baba Firooz,” and “Gol-e Chahchahe”)
Document Type : پژوهشی اصیل
Author
Faculty Member, Department of Persian Language and Literature, Lorestan University, Lorestan, Iran.
10.48311/cfl.2025.86466.0
Abstract
Despite their apparent simplicity, folktales contain deep, meaningful, dynamic structures that function as semiotic models for managing personal and social affairs. This study analyzes six Laki folktales using a combined methodological approach that draws on the Tartu–Moscow School (particularly Lotman’s semiotics) as well as Jungian analytical psychology. From the perspective of the structural-dynamic semiotics of the Tartu–Moscow School, the tales are examined through their semiospheres; based on Jungian semiotics, they are analyzed through archetypes such as the Hero, the Wise Old Man, the Shadow, the Anima, and others—archetypes that operate as forces of
organization and unification. The central question of this research concerns the proposed patterns and secondary cultural models embedded in these tales for restoring order: what are they, and how do they function? The findings indicate that the shared episodes of these tales depict a multi-stage process involving the displacement of signs, shifts in perspective, and the defense or action of natural elements. They also present parallel patterns of semiotic translation, semantic explosion, and the reconstruction of order. From Jung’s perspective, this process reflects collective individuation; from Lotman’s point of view, it is a reconstruction of the semiosphere. The tales implicitly offer clear recommendations—such as disrupting harmful structures, transforming descriptions, exercising courage in reordering and respecting nature (even in its unpleasant aspects).
organization and unification. The central question of this research concerns the proposed patterns and secondary cultural models embedded in these tales for restoring order: what are they, and how do they function? The findings indicate that the shared episodes of these tales depict a multi-stage process involving the displacement of signs, shifts in perspective, and the defense or action of natural elements. They also present parallel patterns of semiotic translation, semantic explosion, and the reconstruction of order. From Jung’s perspective, this process reflects collective individuation; from Lotman’s point of view, it is a reconstruction of the semiosphere. The tales implicitly offer clear recommendations—such as disrupting harmful structures, transforming descriptions, exercising courage in reordering and respecting nature (even in its unpleasant aspects).
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