Death in the Endings of Layla and Majnun Nizami and The Hunchback of Notre Dame Victor Hugo, Relying on Romanticism

Abstract

Introduction

One of the fundamental concerns depicted in many prominent literary works is “death.” “Death is the inevitability of material life and the inevitable end of every birth.” (Vejdani, 2011: 176). Jean Vallée, in his book The Thought of Existence, acknowledges that “death both condemns existence to destruction and gives it infinite value” (Motamedi, 2007: 15). This concept, depending on the cultural, philosophical, and literary context of each period, has taken on different interpretations and has manifested itself in different genres and styles in various ways. In the meantime, the Romantic style, which reached its peak in Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries, has provided a suitable context for addressing the theme of “death,” by emphasizing feelings, intense emotions, and inevitable and sometimes tragic fate. "Romanticism is considered the introduction to the new era of thought and literature, to the extent that it can be said that the roots of the modern world and the new era, socially and artistically, lie in the romantic language" (Jafari-Jazi, 1999: 357-355). One of the prominent examples of Eastern literature in which death plays a fundamental role in the fate of the heroes is the "Layla and Majnoun" series by Nizami Ganjavi. This work narrates the story of the unrequited love of Majnoun and Layla, which ultimately leads to the death of both. In contrast, in Western literature, the novel "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" by Victor Hugo, one of the most prominent French romantic works, is another example of the analysis of death in a tragic atmosphere. The main characters of this novel are also involved in an unrequited love that ultimately leads to their death. Considering the importance of the concept of death in both works and the influence of the Romantic style on its analysis, this research aims to conduct a comparative study and analysis of the position of "death" in the endings of these two works.
 

Methodology

This studyemploys a qualitative approach and content analysis method, examines a comparative study of the concept of "death" in final sections of two famous literary works, "Layla and Majnoun" and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame". Comparative literature, essentially a French science (Van Tieghem, 1951, p. 6), emerged in the early nineteenth century alongside other comparative disciplines.. The main research tool is the study of the original texts of the two works and supplementary sources related to the school of Romanticism and Comparative Literature. The analysis is conducted in a descriptive-interpretive manner, and Romantic elements such as intense emotions, imagination, individualism, naturalism, tragic death, nostalgia, and social criticism are explored in the final sections of the works. This research is designed within the framework of the school of comparative literature, and in particular, the "French school of comparative literature". The theoretical foundations of this school are based on several basic principles such as impact and perception, mediation, transcending value judgment, emphasizing structural-semantic overlaps and differences, and multilevel methodology.
 

Discussion

In the romantic poem "Layla and Majnoun", death is the manifestation of the highest form of union; a union that is not possible in the material world and can only be realized beyond death. Layla's life ends in pain and longing for love and a forced and fruitless marriage, and death becomes a kind of liberation from social and moral bonds for her. The garden of Layla's existence takes on the color of autumn, and illness breaks her body and leads her to death. Majnoun, who gradually distances himself from the outside world after successive failures, finally dies at Layla's grave; as if death is the only way for him to reconnect with his beloved. In this work, death is placed at the service of absolute and transcendent love; a love that finds meaning beyond time and space and becomes a kind of mysticism and spirituality. This is a view that is completely in harmony and in harmony with the spirit of Romanticism. Given that Romanticism emphasizes the concept of death as a tragic and romantic ending and a kind of unity between man and nature, Nizami has magnificently depicted Layla's death through the art of eloquence and atmosphere, by describing the autumnal and fall-stricken nature as a metaphor for the end of her life. This method is in line with the Romantic view that shows death in connection with the sad beauty of nature. The glass container of water becomes cold and the color and surface of the garden turn yellow. The tree's bark appears after the leaves fall and the leaf, turning yellow, seeks gold, but instead of finding gold, it falls to the ground and gets the soil.
Whether intentionally or unintentionally, Nizami paints a discouraging and depressing picture of autumn. Behind the images is a lingering story of death. He knows very well that death, for ordinary and undeveloped people, is the end of life. The most painful word in the dictionary of life! He is aware that he must portray Layla's face on a larger scale than death. Nizami depicts the final moments of Layla's life and her death with the help of beautiful similes. She is modest in the house of life! Could she, with the customs of Arab tribes and the fanaticism and zeal of the heads of the tribe and family, display nudity and immorality? She was raised in a desert environment, and there was no mention of colorful and diverse clothes. The clothes are also simple, like life. Layla, who wore a gold-woven turban, this time covers her hair with another turban at the end of her life story. Nizami has beautifully reflected Layla's delicate and beautiful body and figure, like a flower, which has become weak, thin and fragile in the last breaths of her life. Since in Romanticism, tragic death is often associated with beauty and fragility, this image of Layla also likens her to a withered flower in autumn, which has a poetic and beautiful appearance even in death.
    “Victor Hugo is the most prominent figure in the Romantic literature of the third period. His beautiful prose and extraordinary ability to use the literary capabilities of the French language, the epic and humane spirit of his works, and the attractive characterization that exists in some of his writings, make him the most successful figure of the Third Romantic period.” (Ahmari, 1995: 62)
    In The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hugo depicts death as the final curtain of a magnificent but unsuccessful love affair; a love that is born and dies in the heart of history and society and its harsh criticism. Esmeralda, the free and innocent dancer, falls under the knife of the crooked law and religious and social prejudice; His execution is a cry against the darkness of the times, against the cruelty that has given itself the name of justice. Quasimodo, the same ugly but tender-hearted hunchback, when he loses his beloved, steals her lifeless body and, calm and dignified, dies in her arms. For him, death is no longer a separation; it is the only way to reunite, a reunion that can only be achieved in the shadow of annihilation and nothingness. At the moment of death, the characters in the story achieve the desires that life had denied them. A pure and sincere love and a soul free from any kind of attachment! In both works, death is not the end of the story; it is its climax. “Death” is the development of a romantic experience; a manifestation of the concept of “romantic death” in which the characters reach freedom, meaning, and true love by crossing the boundaries of the body and society.
    Attention to lyrical poems, love songs, knights and legends of underground prisons, sinful priests, orgies and mysterious palaces, suddenly includes the works of Romanticism. Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame is one of these examples; so that it can be said that whatever Classicism feared about the Middle Ages, Romanticism, on the contrary, was fascinated by it. (See: Servat, 2003: 51)
 

Conclusion

In "Layla and Majnoun, Death depicts the union of Layla and Majnoun in a world beyond materiality in a poetic and mystical language, and in a deep connection with nature, he manifests the spirit of Eastern Romanticism. In contrast, "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" depicts the deaths of Esmeralda and Quasimodo in the context of social injustices and protest against the corrupt structures of society with a realistic and critical narrative, and highlights Western Romanticism with its emphasis on individualism and rebellion against the existing order.
    The findings of this study show that although the cultural and literary contexts of these two works are different, both are in line with the principles of Romanticism in using death as a tool to deepen feelings, praise unrequited love, and show the contrast between romantic ideals and the bitter realities of life. In "Layla and Majnoun, death is associated with poetic aesthetics and spirituality, while in "The Hunchback of Notre Dame, death is tied to social bitterness and criticism of power structures. These differences highlight the diversity and flexibility of Romanticism in different cultures, but their commonality in the immortality of love through death establishes a deep and human connection between these works. The story of Layla and Majnoun is one of the most influential works of Persian mystical literature, depicting symbols such as divine love, destruction, rebuke, and the contrast of well-being or spirituality, and has a profound impact on later poets and mystics. This work should be considered a melancholy, not a tragedy! because it is based on the hero's determination and submission to fate, not on the chosen predicaments and painful human responsibilities. Moreover, the existence of the promise of a reunion in the afterlife is incompatible with the nature of tragedy. Despite his initial reluctance to write it due to its simplicity and repetition, Nizami has added vivid descriptions to make it more attractive and prevent boredom. The characters in the story are simple, absolute, and static; without internal complexities or environmental changes, which is consistent with the monotony of Bediyya. The structure of the story is also non-episodic and closest to the novel among Nizami's works. The results show that death, regardless of geographical, temporal, or linguistic context, has appeared in both cultures as a symbol of liberation, love, and protest against limitations.