somayeh sharooni

Abstract This study investigates the evolution of women's sources of power in four Persian novels representing the 1980s through the 2010s. The central research question concerns the ways in which different forms of women's capital are represented and how their social, cultural, and symbolic status has evolved in response to transformations in Iranian society. Since female characters in fiction reflect social structures and power relations, examining these novels provides insight into the resources, status, and agency attributed to women in each decade and reveals the broader social and cultural changes embedded in these representations. The significance of this research lies in the fact that the representation of women in Persian fiction extends beyond literary value and embodies important social and cultural implications. Accordingly, analyzing the transformation of women's sources of power in these novels contributes to a deeper understanding of women's position in both Persian literature and Iranian society, while also illuminating changing perceptions of female identity and social roles from the 1980s to the 2010s.Adopting a descriptive-analytical approach based on library research, this study examines Tūbā va Maʿnā-ye Shab (1988), Jazīreh-ye Sargardānī (1993), Parandeh-ye Man (2002), and Rūz-e Halazūn (2013). The novels were selected because they place women's lives at the center of their narratives. The findings indicate that women's participation in the fields of education, power, politics, and business has expanded over time, whereas their religious role, as well as their traditional roles as wives and mothers, has gradually become less prominent.