The Crisis of Representation in Azadeh Khanoom and Her Author by Reza Baraheni

The crisis of representation is a topic widely discussed in critique and theory of postmodern literature. This refers to the crises of the present era including the crisis of meaning, the perplexity of contemporary humankind amidst a mass of valid and invalid data, alienation, etc. Literature, as the epitome of human life, is a reflection of these crises in the contemporary era. Azadeh Khanoom and Her Author or‌ the private Auschwitz of Dr. Sharifi, written by Reza Baraheni, is among the most well-known novels of the last three decades in Iran. This novel is regarded as a noteworthy example of postmodern fiction. In the present article, the crisis of representation in Azadeh Khanoom and Her Author is analyzed based on “subject”, as the philosophical substitute for the concept of “man”. In this analysis, the crisis of representation, its consequences for human subject and its influence on Baraheni’s fictional characters are explored; consequently, crises such as identity crisis, personality crisis, etc. can be considered as complications of man’s current affliction of the crisis of representation.