Active and Passive Women in the Iranian Prose Folk Tales

Women in the prose folk tales have various roles. In contrast to the position of women in official and lyric literature، the living، dynamic، influential and basic role of them in folk tales is noteworthy. Active women with positive character are the initiator of love، heroe’s helper، protector of their freedom and dignity، warrior، heroe’s physician and nurse، against the mandatory marriages، consistent in love، sly، devoted، kind، intelligent and advisor. Women with negative character are sly، witches، malicious، wicked، evil، treacherous، envious and corrupt. Passive women are as a reward for the hero، unsophisticated، beloved or spouse، agree with polygamy and oppressed. This descriptive-analytical paper cheks twenty-two long famouse folk stories and analyzes the popular types of active and passive women''s role in them.