The Study of the Sin - Salvation motif within the framework of the love of stepmother to her husband's son (Based on Jami 's Josef and Zoleikha and the Tibetan narrative of Queen and Monk's story)

One of the oldest and most widespread motifs of the romantic stories of the world is the love of the stepmother to her husband's son. In Persian literature, besides the most well-known Iranian story, Siavash and Soudabeh in Shahnama (Book of the Kings), the story of Joseph and Zoleikha, rooted in Quran, gave rise to stories and poems, the most artistic one being Mohabatnameh, in the Fifth Awrang of Haft Awrang ( Seven Thrones) , composed by Abdurrahman Jami. There are similar motifs in the narrative works of other nations, namely that found in the Far East, in the Tibetan literature, i.e. the story of Monk Virukana and Queen Shepungza. Generally speaking, the study shows that these stories mainly focus on the principle of sin-salvation clash, and that both main characters (the unfaithful woman and the pious man), have to go through four stages: sin, Punishment, free from sin, and salvation, in order to dispose of sin and attain salvation. Drawing on the mythical analysis, the study has also shown that the sinful woman in these narratives represents ancient and obsolete beliefs whereas the pious man is the manifestation of the new order in societies, launching a new discipline. This old- new confrontation is manifested in the guise of sin-salvation clash in these stories.