The Ideal Language of Traditionalist Women in the Novels My Share and A Lonely Girl: A Critical Discourse Analysis

Document Type : Persian Research Article

Authors

1 Ph.D. student in Persian Language and Literature, Faculty of Humanities, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran.

2 Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature, Faculty of Humanities, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran.

Abstract

This study aims to identify the discursive mechanisms through which the feminine ideals of “traditionalist women” are represented in two novels—My Share by Parinoush Saniee and A Lonely Girl by Edna O’Brien—drawing on Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis. Using a descriptive–analytical method, and given the volume of data within the novels, the authors focus on the key discourses that form the core of the narratives and examine decisive sentences. Concentrating on the linguistic dimension of discourse, the study analyzes three layers—lexical, grammatical, and textual structures—at the level of description, and shows how feminine language, while reflecting domination and repression, recovers lexical, relational, expressive, and metaphorical values in both texts. Represented sampling indicates that in both works the ideal language of female characters seeks to articulate civic needs such as education, love, and independence as personal ideals, set against patriarchal, religious, and traditional discourses. Comparison shows that in My Share domination is mainly reproduced through Iranian family structures and religious culture, whereas in A Lonely Girl constraints are imposed chiefly by the Church and Ireland’s religious system. The findings reveal that women’s language in these texts, though caught within dominant discourses, opens a space for individuality and agency through aspirations, metaphors, and even direct critique. Thus, Kathleen angers her father and the priest with blunt criticism, while Masoumeh strives toward her ideals through prayer and metaphorical language.

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References

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History

  • Receive Date: 22 November 2025
  • Revise Date: 03 March 2026
  • Accept Date: 06 March 2026
  • Publish Date: 06 March 2026

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