The Integration of Modernist Persian Literature and Fictional Uncertainty in Shahriyār Mandanīpūr’s Short Stories

Abstract This article draws attention to fictional uncertainty in modernist Persian literature. Fictional uncertainty is a definitive characteristic of modernist Persian literature where the author’s philosophy, the complexity of the text, and changeability of literary devices interact. Furthermore, fictional uncertainty provides a framework to depict the insecurity of Iranians, as individuals, after the 1979 Revolution. Searching for fictional uncertainty in Persian narratives, this article first investigates the Western theoretical framework of the term, then continues with its characteristics in the context of Persian literature, and finally examines Shahriyār Mandanīpūr’s theory of fictional uncertainty by analyzing three of his short stories. Mandanīpūr is a prominent Iranian author who has pushed the limits of modernist Persian literature through his experimental fictional uncertainty. His fictional uncertainty highlights the use of complex literary devices such as changing points of view, multiple themes, dynamic characters, and unstable settings to artistically recreate the perilous lives of Iranians after the 1979 Revolution.