A Narratological Study of Time based on Gerard Genette's Theory: The Case of Jayeh Khalieh Soloch

Narratology is a methodical approach of studying narrative structure. In literary criticism, this approach tries to investigate the semantic system beyond the text by analyzing the form in the literary work. Narratology reveals the common, sometimes recurrent, narrative structures, as well as its major, sometimes hidden, components in a text. One of the important elements in the narrative structure is “Time ". In most narrative texts, the narrative time is a real time. This paper applied Genette's theory of time on a novel called Jayeh Khalieh Soloch</em> written by Mahmoud Dowlatâbâdi. The main aim of this article is to analyze and discuss the three levels of the narrative time: order, duration, and frequency in the novel. The results suggested that the function of different times, namely, the calendar time, the emotional time of the characters, and the overall time of the narrative have been expanded throughout the novel. The significance of the study is to clarify the advantages of using new approaches of criticism and literary interpretation as well as recognizing the application of narratology in the study of modern and classic texts.