Possible Worlds in the Narrative Structure of Masnavi Manavi; A Case Study: The Story of Dezhe Hooshroba (The Castle of Fortress)

The theory of possible worlds is one of the theoretical foundations of cognitive stylistics that is rooted in Leibniz's philosophy. Understanding how narratives are narrated is central to this theory; it illustrates the text-reader interactions and the relationship of reader with literary narrative. Masnavi Manavi, as one of the largest source of the mystical literature, encompasses the foundations of practical and theoretical mysticism. By using descriptive-analytic method and based on the theory of possible worlds, in the present article the attempt is made to propose a new reading of Masnavi Manavi. Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī, as the narrator of the stories, speaks subtly about narrative discourses and creates worlds, including epistemic, fantasy and ideal worlds, in the mind of reader. In the story of Dezhe Hooshroba (the castle of Fortress), the theory of possible worlds is mostly portrayed as an epistemic world with the aim of teaching mystical doctrines based on the pattern "if ... so". In the ideal world portrayed in the story, Rūmī uses the conjunction of "or" and terms that include desiring, yearning, and demanding. For him, love is the most important means of discovering, constructing and taking intuition of the ideal world. Love helps the sālek (the holy traveler) in the path of intuitive knowledge. We have access to these worlds in temporal, linguistic and natural way, but the frequency of temporal access is greater.