A comparative study of the characterization of women in Ferdowsi's Shahnameh and the stories of the Holy Quran

The characterization of Iranian women in stories, poems, and plays is only everlasting when it is taken from the Iranian-Islamic culture. In this regard, this research seeks to answer the question of what themes and elements have been used in the characterization of women in the stories of the Holy Quran and the stories of Ferdowsi's Shahnameh. So, by applying the comparative approach and the descriptive-analytical method, it has been concluded that the personality of women is divided into two categories of benevolent and malevolent women. A  benevolent woman is spiritual and insists on following customs and traditions, and she emphasizes on the importance of the family institution, especially the role of the husband and father in the family whereas, a malevolent woman is only concentrated on the materialistic aspects and thereby is not committed to the institution of family, rites and traditions. Finally, the characterization of women in the aforementioned texts are discussed based on the dual themes of materialism and spirituality.