The prototype of tree in Simin Daneshvar's Souvashun

As eternal, unknown forms, archetypes or prototypes originate from collective unconsciousness of human being and they are common among all nations. They have been introduced initially by psychologists such as Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud and literary scholars employed the concept in their studies. The prototype-based criticism tends to be a new topic of study in the area of psychological criticism and it has opened a significant chapter in the area of literature, mythology, arts, religions, rites, beliefs from the past to the present. The novel Souvashun by Simin Daneshvar is one of the masterpieces of contemporary works including mythological concepts and bearing a rich number of prototypes in different levels. In this work, Daneshvar has employed the tree prototype to suggest the concepts of life, fertility, hope, perseverance, etc. This novel mostly represents the positive aspects of the prototype, but there are also some hints to the negative points. In this article, we attempt to analyze the role, creation and development of tree in the context of Souavashun novel. In this literary work, tree is associated with concepts such as femininity, light, eternity, mourning, peace, sex and mystic experience. The novel touches the status and surrounding shades of trees such as cedar, walnut and pine. Traces of the cosmic tree is also noticeable in the novel. Likewise, Gisu tree tends to be the central sign of the novel providing a pure, inspirational, and mythical atmosphere.