Psychological Mechanisms to Escape from the Negative Aspects of Freedom in Simin Behbahani’s Poems from Erich Fromm’s Perspective

Authoritarianism is the psychological mechanism of man to escape from the negative aspects of freedom in the society. Fromm believes that man surrenders to a superior power to escape the suffering of decision-making. Consequently, through authoritarianism man suffers from three opposing feelings: either one surrenders with a sense of powerlessness to a superior power (masochism), or one has arrogance and a sense of domination over others (sadism), and sometimes one communicates with the society through a masochistic-sadistic coexistence which leads to the loss of individual freedom and independence. In Behbahani’s poems, these mechanisms are manifested in the community around Simin with two approaches of submission and domination in their mild forms. Using an analytical-descriptive method, this paper examines the psychological mechanisms for escaping from the negative aspects of freedom in Behbahani’s poems from Eric Fromm’s perspective. The findings show that in Simin Behbahani’s poems – as Fromm asserts – she surrenders to a powerful whole that is sometimes the sacred love and sometimes destiny (fatalism) and sometimes the earthly love of Simin whom she cannot resist. Furthermore, occasionally in her poems, Simin goes so far as to dominate her beloved by asking God to be able to inflict endless psychological suffering on him through absolute domination.