An analysis of the function of the body as a narrative space and semiotic system in representing traumatic experience and the process of sublimation in the book My Name Is Mahtab

Mohseni, Fatemeh Zahra; Namvar Motlagh, Bahman

doi:10.22034/jlc.2026.567852.1812

An analysis of the function of the body as a narrative space and semiotic system in representing traumatic experience and the process of sublimation in the book My Name Is Mahtab

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Fatemeh Zahra Mohseni ¹

Bahman Namvar motlagh ²

¹ French language and literature department. Shahid beheshti university, Tehran, Iran

² دانشگاه شهید بهشتی - دانشکده ادبیات و علوم انسانی - گروه زبان و ادبیات فرانسه

10.22034/jlc.2026.567852.1812

Abstract

This article analyzes the function of the "body" as a narrative locus and semiotic system in representing the experience of trauma and the process of redemption in Mahtob Mahmoody's My Name Is Mahtob. The central problem is how the body transforms from a passive, subjugated object into an active subject and a site for the manifestation of faith and transcendence. Employing an analytical approach and drawing on the theories of abjection from Julia Kristeva, narratology of Gérard Genette, and semiotics of Roland Barthes, this study examines the book's narrative plot and the evolution of the narrator's "narrative voice." The findings indicate that Mahmoody's narrative follows a linear "redemption plot" that can be analyzed in three stages: 1) The Abject and Traumatized Body, where the body is a site for registering violence, illness, and fear; 2) The Body in Transition and Struggle, where the narrator strives to reclaim her body through spiritual and psychological actions; and 3) The Redeemed and Forgiving Body, where the body becomes a site for manifesting faith, strength, and forgiveness. This article argues that Mahmoody's spiritual narrative voice is the primary tool for this transformation, which, by reinterpreting suffering within a divine framework, turns the abject body into a "redeemed self" and thereby presents a powerful narrative of survival and transcendence.

Keywords

Abjection

Narratology

Semiotics

Trauma

Julia Kristeva

Subjects