A Comparative of “Self” and “the Other” in Germany by Madame de Staël and Westernization by Jalal al-Ahmad

 Jalal Al-Ahmad (1923-1969) and Madame de Staël (1717-1817) are among prominent writers of Iranian and French literature respectively. Their eras were similar in numerous ways: literature, society and culture, eventually leading to a contrast between German Romanticism and French Classicism in Germany by Madame de Staël, and east and west in Westernization by Jalal al-Ahmad. Analogy is one of the common aspects of these two works. The presence of looking at “the other” in the writings of these two authors is an influential factor in the evaluation of the “self”. The main goal of this study is to examine how Pierre Brunel’s theory of law of emergence can be applied to the the ideas of Al-Ahmad and Madame de Staël. this study takes a comparative approach to the analysis of “self” and “the other” in these two books, defining the affinity and contradiction between a society that “looks” and a society that is “looked at”. Also, the factors leading to this intellectual resemblance is identified and examined.