Journal of the stylistic of Persian poem and prose
volume Number 18، number In Volume 12، March 2026 ، issue Number 118

Mourning Siavash in Shahnameh: Social resilience and the treatment of historical anxieties within the framework of Durkheim, Ungar, and Alexander's theories

Mohsen Negarestani , Hoshmand Esfandyarpour (Author in Charge), Poran Yusefipour Kermani

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: This research, combining the theories of Durkheim (moral unity), Angar (social resilience), and Alexander (cultural trauma), analyzes the mourning ritual of Siavash in Shahnameh as an intelligent mechanism for transforming historical anxieties into moral capital.

METHODOLOGY: This research was conducted using the comparative-critical hermeneutics method and the study of key verses.

FINDINGS: The findings show that this ritual leads to crisis management in three ways: first, the collective participation of everyone, even enemies, in mourning, which, by breaking the boundaries of individualism (Durkheim), provides the necessary social energy for the Kaykhosrow uprising. Second, resilient symbolization through the mythologizing of Siavash as “martyred justice” and the creation of the teaching tree, which transforms historical suffering into an educational tool (Angar). Third, the renarrative of trauma by directing emotions towards reform programs such as emphasizing “law and order,” which breaks the cycle of violence (Alexander). The innovation of the research is in creating a synthetic framework that recalls the Shahnameh not simply as a literary text, but as a sociological document that considers rituals as a tool for social engineering.

CONCLUSION: This three-dimensional model (participation, symbolization, renarrative) deepens our understanding of resilience as a dynamic process and offers a practical solution to contemporary crises from social cleavages to structural injustice. A comparative study of this model with the mythologies of other cultures could be a step towards a universal theory in the management of historical traumas.

Keyword
Shahnameh , Siavash’s mourning , social resilience , Durkheim , historical anxieties.