Professor Dick Davis spoke at SOAS recently – on the women in the Shahnameh.
He’s counted fifty (that’s 50!) named women in the Shahnameh – as well as all the unnamed mothers, daughters and slavegirls. He specially noticed the huge differences between the women in the first and second halves of the book.
In the first half, the mothers of the heroes are Indian, demons .. anything but Persian. Prof Davis suggested that female- and foreign-ness blend into a single alterity, which may contribute to the faults of the pahlavan – but, ultimately, makes the heroes who they are.
All the women in the first half are resourceful and independent. Their ambition is never reprehensible. Their desire – inside and outside of marriage – is fiercely celebrated. There’s never any fuss about virginity. Think of Gordafarid. Or Tahmineh. Ultimately, these women are the ones doing the things which make the plot work.
And … sorry, guys… the women are always RIGHT. The men may deny or ignore the advice they are given. But they’re always proved wrong!
In contrast, Persian women in the second half of the Shahnameh are subservient. They don’t marry foreign men – though they may be raped by them. Miscegenation – especially with the despised ‘Turk’- is reviled. The women in the second half are there to serve. To provide pleasure, or be a wife, or perhaps to teach. Think of all the lovers of Bahram Gur.
What a contrast with all those first-half women – who were there for themselves, or to provide an ethical reality!
So, why is this? Prof Davis talked about the Parthians. Of course, the names and the geography of the Shahnameh centre on the lands of the Parthians. The Parthians linked with the Greeks, and Prof Davis noted the Hellenic topos of female warriors. And the Parthians have a tradition of strong women – which continues in nomad tribes even now.