Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Master’s Degree in Persian Language and Literature, Payame Noor University, Shahrekord, Iran.
2
Associate Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
This study investigates the representation of symbolic violence in Iranian novels of the 2010s, using Pierre Bourdieu’s theoretical framework. According to Bourdieu, symbolic violence functions as a subtle and invisible form of domination, reproduced through language, institutions, and everyday social practices, and thus proves more enduring and dangerous than direct violence. The research employs a qualitative content analysis of seven representative novels of the decade: Man Manchester United ra dust daram (Yazdani Khorram, 2012), Tavall (Afrouzmanesh, 2013), Lab bar Tigh (Sanapour, 2014), Bist Zakhm Kari (Hosseinizad, 2016), Malekan Azab (Khosravi, 2018), Khafash Shab (Golshiri, 2020), and Pas-Kucheh-haye Sokut (Modabbor, 2020). The findings reveal that symbolic violence is represented across five domains: family, class and social structure, gender, language and narrative, and institutions. Families are depicted as the primary sites where gender stereotypes are internalized; in class contexts, marginalized characters experience exclusion and humiliation; women appear as the central victims of symbolic violence, while language and narrative act as tools legitimizing domination. Furthermore, institutions such as education, media, and bureaucracy play crucial roles in sustaining these patterns. At the same time, some works such as Tavall portray possibilities of resistance against symbolic violence. Overall, the study demonstrates that Bourdieu’s theory of symbolic violence offers an effective framework for analyzing Iranian social novels of the 2010s, positioning them simultaneously as reflections of domination and as spaces of critique and resistance.
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