Simin Daneshvar
Iran's first major woman novelist and author of 'Savushun,' one of the most widely read Persian novels (1921–2012).
Read in context →At a glance
- Field
- novel-writing and translation
- Key work
- the novel 'Savushun' (1969)
- First
- first Iranian woman to publish a story collection and novel
- Birthplace
- Shiraz
Biography
Simin Daneshvar (1921–2012), born in Shiraz, was the first Iranian woman to publish a professional short-story collection and then a novel, and is counted among the pioneers of modern women's fiction in Iran. Her fame rests above all on the novel 'Savushun' (1969), the story of a woman named Zari in Shiraz during the Allied occupation in World War II, which became one of the best-selling and most enduring Persian novels and was translated into several languages. She held a doctorate in Persian literature, taught at the University of Tehran, and translated many works. Her husband was Jalal Al-e Ahmad, the prominent writer and intellectual, a connection that shaped the public reception of her work. The contested point is that Daneshvar's literary standing has sometimes been read in the shadow of her husband's fame, whereas many critics stress that 'Savushun' is, independently, a foundational work in the history of the Persian novel.
Related entities
Sources
- Encyclopaedia Iranica, "Dānešvar, Simin"
- Encyclopaedia Iranica, "Savušun"
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Simin Daneshvar"