An Analysis of the Signs of Growth and Decay in the Characters of Fereydoun and Zahhak from the Viewpoint of Erich Fromm

Literary texts are the product of individual unconscious psyche and collective consciousness. In Iranian mythology, Fereydoun and Zahhak are symbols of good and evil. This research is an attempt to demonstrate aspects of growth and decay according to Erich Fromm’s theories. It aims at finding aspects of growth (love of life, love of humanity, freedom from the archetypal Mother) and contrasting them with the manifestations of decay (love of death, narcissism, return to mother’s womb) in respectively the characters of Fereydoun and Zahhak in Shahnameh.