Echo of forbidden love between the East and the West: a comparative study of the Kurdish myth of Mem and Zîn and the French legend of Tristan and Iseult

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Behzad Hashemi

Lecturer Azad Islamic University, Arak Branch, Arak; Iran

10.22067/rltf.2025.94356.1147

Abstract

This study engages in an in-depth comparative exploration, bringing into dialogue two monumental poetic works born of distinct cultural realms: Mem û Zîn(1692),written by Ahmad Xanî, deeply rooted in the Kurdish cultural tradition, and Tristan and Yseut, compiled in 1900 by Joseph Bédier, a cornerstone of medieval French literary heritage. In the light of comparative literature theory, following the approach of the American School, this research seeks to critically and thoughtfully examine the narrative structures and thematic motifs shared by both tales, while probing the portrayal of forbidden love within their differing cultural frameworks. The author endeavors to disclose the profound stages of love in these two romances—from the first stirrings of passion to philosophical contemplation. The study sheds light on prominent resonances between the works, despite their temporal, geographical, and linguistic distances. Themes such as forbidden love, the veiled tension between fate and desire, and the intricate weave of loyalty and duty intertwine in the narrative fabric of both poems, like threads both delicate and enduring. This study adopts an approach that is both analytical and comparative. It seeks to explore the figures of forbidden love as shown in two literary masterpieces born in distinct cultural worlds. The findings of this study suggest that, despite historical and cultural divergences, Mem and Zîn and Tristan and Iseult resound with a shared truth: that of a forbidden love whose universal scope is reflected, in the mirror of each civilization, under a unique visage.

Keywords

Joseph Bédier"

Ahmad Xanî"

Tristan and Yseut"

Mem and Zîn"

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comparative literature"

Subjects

• french literature

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