Silent Voices in Discursive Conflicts in Sa’di’s Golestan

Adopting a new historicist methodological approach, this paper examines the representation of the various classes in 7th-century Iranian society in Sa’di’s Golestan against the background of contemporary conflicting discourses about social class. It connects the disruption of contemporary notions concerning social order, as well as the attribution of new meanings to existing signifiers, with the displacement of the center of power in the 7th century AH. The paper also suggests that Golestan’s resistance to certain discourses and groups indicates the emergence of new centers of power and new discourses in society.  On the other hand, in line with the principles of new historicism, the paper shows how the lower strata and silenced minorities in society appear in Golestan and rise from objecthood to subject status and sometimes actually use the same ideology that places them at the bottom of the social ladder to resist their leaders. Due to the intertextual approach in this article, other texts are also used for comparison and analysis. The method adopted is, moreover, based on Foucault’s theory of power and resistance.