Metamorphosis and Mythological Transformation in The Well of Babel

The Well of Babel, a novel written by Reza Ghāssemi, has a mythological theme. Inspired by a Semitic story, it narrates the descent of two male angels named Harut and Marut who fall in love with a woman named Zohreh (Nahid). The purpose of the present article is to examine the metamorphosis of these three characters and their functions. In addition, by using descriptive-analytical method, it also tries to show the history of the fall of the angels and their connection to ancient Indian and Iranian goddesses. In this regard, it's important to investigate the metamorphosis of Anahita, Haurvatat and Ameretat and their relationship with Indian goddess of Saraswati and Ashvins twins. The results show that time, place, and personality in the novel have triple features. In trichotomy of personality, the mythological transformation of Harut and Marut into the body of two men and transformation of Zohreh into the body of a woman happen. Mandoo, Kamal and Filisa play central role in the transformation.
Recurrence, reincarnation and transformation happen in three different eras (the Qajar dynasty, the age of Islamic revolution and the contemporary era) and in three different locations (Russia, Iran and French). They refer to metamorphosis and the mythological transformation and confirm the recurrence of eternal behavior patterns of men.