Polyphonic Mysticism: Bakhtinian Dialogism and The Spiritual Voice in Elif Shafak’s The Forty Rules of Love
Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Technology June 30, 2026 DOI: 10.67649/r40s3h49 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Mysticism |
| Key points | Argues that Shafak's novel constructs mysticism as dialogic and polyphonic, subverting the notion of a single mystical truth through narrative plurality and temporal shifts. |
Abstract
This paper examines Elif Shafak’s The Forty Rules of Love through a Bakhtinian framework to highlight the novel's polyphonic construction of mysticism. While the existing literature largely focuses on the Sufi sentiment and intertextual layering of the text, it often overlooks the dialogic structure which shapes the spiritual meaning. By employing Bakhtin’s concepts of heteroglossia, chronotope and dialogism, this study aims to explore how Shafak subverts the notion of a single, overwhelming mystical truth by emphasizing plurality, narrative tension and temporal shift. The objective of this research is to interrogate the novel’s intertwined structure, connecting historical space with contemporary world, to disclose the profound coexistence of competing ethical, emotional and cultural voices that overall shape the spiritual understanding of the text. By situating mysticism as emergent, relational and inherently contested, the study demonstrates how narrative form itself enacts spiritual inquiry, thus inviting readers to actively participate in meaning-making process. This analysis extends the literary and Sufi studies by presenting the novel’s role in conceptualizing mysticism as dialogic and polyphonic.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on mysticism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The mystical mind: probing the biology of religious experience | 2000 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Religious and Mystical Experiences as Artifacts of Temporal Lobe Function: A General Hypothesis | 1983 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Problem of Pure Consciousness: Mysticism and Philosophy | 1993 | Edited collection of essays | |
| Irreducible Mind: Toward a Psychology for the 21st Century | 2020 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mysticism and schizophrenia: A phenomenological exploration of the structure of consciousness in the schizophrenia spectrum disorders. | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |