The Fluidity of Meaning in the Binary Oppositions of One Thousand and One Nights: A Deconstructive Approach of Jacques Derrida (Case Study: The Story of Nur al-Din and His Brother Shams al-Din)

Deconstruction, as both a theoretical and practical approach to textual reading, questions the existence of a definitive meaning or ultimate coherence in a text and emphasizes the relativity and indeterminacy of meaning. Building on this framework, the present study employs a descriptive-analytical approach to examine the representation of binary oppositions and the fluidity of meaning in the story Nural-Din and His Brother Shamsal-Din from One Thousand and One Nights. The narrative analysis is structured in three stages: first, identifying the binary oppositions and determining the dominant pole; second, revealing the instability of the dominant pole and examining moments of semantic rupture; and third, investigating the interplay of human agency with supernatural destiny. Moreover, the concept of decentering, as a core element of Derrida’s thought, is also examined. The findings indicate that the narrative of Nural-Din and Shamsal-Din is grounded in the fluidity and suspension of meaning. Although the opposition between destiny and human agency appears hierarchical on the surface, its boundaries collapse in the deeper layers of the text, and human agency plays an active role in the realization of destiny. Thus, the story moves away from a centralized structure and transforms into a fluid network of interactions and events.

کلیدواژه ها:

Jacques Derrida ، deconstruction ، binary oppositions ، One Thousand and One Nights ، Nur al-Din and Shams al-Din