Translation Studies and Comparative Literature: The Role of ‘Translation’ and ‘Religion’ in the Emergence of Comparable Literary Works

The present article aims at analyzing the role of paratopic elements of ‘translation’ and ‘religion’ in the emergence of comparable mystical-literary works through comparing two allegories: the outstanding English allegorical novel The Pilgrim’s Progress by Bunyan and the contemporary Persian novella From A’in to Ghaf by Afrouz. Parsa, the hero in the Persian novella, sets off his mystical journey at the age of forty. The main character in Bunyan’s work, Christian, abandons his town and begins his hazardous journey to the Celestial City. A plethora of allusions to the Holy Qur’an and the Bible were found in the Persian and English stories, respectively. Drawing on Attar’s Mantegh-al-Tair as a framework, this study attempts to compare different stages of mystical journeys in the two works. The major reason for the resemblance between the two works is their religious backgrounds. Moreover, as the author of the Persian novella was the translator of the English novel, a sort of unconscious influence could also be involved.

Keywords:

paratopy , comparative litterateur , translation , mystical litterateur , پیرامکانی (پاراتوپی) , ادبیات تطبیقی , ترجمه , ادبیات عرفانی