Narrative Structure in Fazl Mokhadar’s Eskandarone: A Genettian Reading

As a form of narration characterized by various writing techniques, the novel can be analyzed from different critical perspectives. Gérard Genette, drawing on several theorists, studies the function of time in the novel by presenting a salient structural model that can be used to examine its presentation in a given literary text. This study examines the structure of time in Fazl Mokhadar’s Eskandarone based on Genette’s framework. Throughout the novel, the author employs a standard speed of time by creating dialogue between the narrator-protagonist and minor characters. The writer also fills the gap in time by using analepsis in connecting the events and the minor heroes. However, it is possible to observe anachrony in the narrative structure as the narrator sometimes narrates the events in terms of analepsis. Moreover, the author speeds up the narration by eliminating/summarizing events and slows the narration through pauses. This study finds that Eskandarone enjoys a regular and ordered temporal structure which is created by the narrator. The most important aspect of the narrative is its open-ended form as the narrator ends the novel by prolepsis. The novel, accordingly, oscillates between standard and negative narrative speed.