Critical Study of Stylistics in Fariba Vafi’s A Secret in the Allies

This article is to study Fariba Vafi’s novel of A secret in the Alleys</em>, applying a critical stylistics approach in order to find an answer for the fundamental question of “how the covert ideology and discourse behind the lines of the novel can be reveal by means of examining its stylistics?” The research was conducted via a layer stylistic approach, i.e. at first, the outer layer and situational context, and then the narrative and textual layers have been examined. The purpose of this descriptive-analytical study is to show the interpretation and deep understanding of the novel; because, from the perspective of critical stylistics, the covert ideology, authority, power, and discourse prevailing the story can be better understood. It also can lead the readers to find out how the language reproduces those social implications. At the end, this article concludes that, the contrasting characters and discourses, as well as the negative aspect of the language used in the narration, could be the manifestations of the stylistics that lead the reader to discover the ideology behind the lines of the novel – which is here the suppression of women in a patriarchal system and their passive reaction toward it.