Gender Metamorphosis of Dives in the Qajar Era Illustrations: A Mythological and Sociological Analysis

Abstract

There have been extensive studies on the gender metamorphosis of divs, monstrous creatures of widespread presence in Persian lore. An interpretation of the evolution of nature, supernatural beings (including div), and the feminine presence within a historical backdrop indicate that humanity once perceived these as mysterious and menacing entities, believing their lives to be influenced by the will and intervention of sinister divs. However, over time, these entities have been emancipated from their ethereal, inscrutable realms and become subjected, instead, to the faculties of contemplation and judicious reasoning. Iranian society, as a longstanding part of the human tapestry, has also experienced this reassessment. The present study is an attempt to scrutinise the causality behind the manifestation of gender shifts in depictions of divs during the Qajar era. The Qajar era is widely regarded as the historical turning point in which the last remnants of Iran’s traditional societal structure began to fade, marking the dawn of a new world. Artworks from this key period attest to a profound transformation of the view toward nature, supernatural beings, and women. Div, as an epitome of the horrors of nature – and woman, as a symbol of the beauty and tenderness of nature, underwent a fusion. Divs, once petrifying entities, assumed more benign and distinctly feminine forms. We argue that this metamorphosis signifies a tendency to demythologise nature and the secularisation of feminine social life.