Representation of Feminine Logic in Iranian Legends

In the traditional masculine culture and its gender-oriented divisions, logic had always been considered as a masculine concept. Thinking strategies, in this respect, as well as the ability to make decisions and find solutionsare considered as masculine features, marking women as passive, marginal, and observing agents. If only they were given any active role in the social, cultural and political context, it was mostly regarded as a role coupled with treachery and deceitfulness. Yet, in the Persian public cultural domain, from the crux of which legends have emerged as the most notable literary forms, this very patriarchal cliché fails, and the women come to the scene to address problems by relying on their utmost level of rationality and logic. Such a pragmatic logicism in addressing problems as presented by women in the legends can be considered as a feminine rationality. Borrowing from the Jungian theories and forming an analytical-descriptive approach, this study explores howfeminine rationality is materialized in the Iranian legends. The findings indicated that unlike global clichés and Jung’s reading of the archetypal legends, women exhibit an essentially feminine rationality that enables them to not only help the main heroof the narrative but also play an all positive role. Considering the depth and breadth as well as the appearance of the wise women in the Iranian legends, this study shows the formation of an archetype, called a ‘wise woman’, which can be further appreciated by exploring the legends from other nations