The Function of the Symbol in Hadiqah's Tales, Masnavi’s Stories and Fairy Tales

The mystical texts and fairy tales are often in the field of educational and allegorical literature, and the role of symbols is very significant in the study and analysis of the rhetorical function and contemplation of these works. Symbolism is not only an effective technique in making literary texts but also an accurate device in the evaluation of the contents of these works as well as the most important method to express coded texts. The main purpose of the present research is to examine the function of symbols in explicit concepts and hidden contents of Hediqah's tales, Masnavi's stories, and fairy tales. The quality of using symbolic methods to infer the meanings of these works can lead to a better understanding of the significance of symbolism for the interpretation and paraphrasing of the speech in Iranian mystical stories and fairy tales in western literature. This article first examines the significance of the symbol in interpreting and paraphrasing the concepts of these works using an analytical descriptive method. Then through comparing and contrasting some samples, it attempts to show to what extent knowing features and functions of the symbol is effective in discovering hidden layers of their themes. The conclusion is that the use of the function of the symbol in Islamic, mystical texts is to clarify the inner concepts in the reader's mind, while in fairy tales the ultimate goal in creating ambiguity in meaning is to mature the audience’s mind. With the reader's correct interpretations, these works retain their originality, and such quality turns them into an open-ended text with a variety of interpretative capabilities.