پايان ناتمام مثنوي مولوي

The Unfinished End of Molaviʹs Masnavi

The last story of Molaviʹs Masnavi is Zaat-al-sovar (decorated with pictures) or Hushroba (literally, that which takes away consciousness) Castle. It narrates the life of a king and his three sons. Upon leaving the palace to travel around their home country, they are advised by their father not to approach Hushroba Castle. But they do not act on the advice and break their promise. While visiting the castle, they happen to see the picture of Chinese Emperorʹs daughter and become infatuated with her. Molavi elaborates on the two elder sonsʹ endeavors to reach the girl, which is unrewarded, and their final death Molavi, However, tells us nothing about the youngest son, who indolently manages to arrives in the castle, though he has the opportunity to narrate the rest of the story and Chalabi could have asked him to do so. This paper tries to explain Molaviʹs non-elaboration and the unfinished story based on the displacement of the Creation Myth and the role of women in conquering castles.