The Guffaw Dragoness. Notes on a Persian Legend

This article focuses on a Persian legend derived from Abol Qasem Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh (The Book of Kings) with a rather peculiar antagonist: a dragoness whose most significant expression is laughter. By revising what Islam and Zoroastrian ism (both present as structuring constructs in this legend) teach about laughter, we will try to under stand why such a humane expression is attributed to a monster. Since the monster in question is a female creature, we will also explore a gendered perspective to establish a link between dragons and laughter. Finally, by means of symbolic and cultural hermeneutics, we will reflect on the only way the dragoness can be destroyed: a mirror.