Comparative study of Conceptual Metaphor in the Novels Ayenehaye Dardar and Al-Less Wal-Kelab with an emphasis on social themes

The prominent aim of the current research is to investigate the dominant social theme-centered cognitive metaphors which are used in "Ayenehaye Dardar" by Houshang Golshiri and "Al- Less Wal-Kelab" by Najib Mahfouz, who are two realist authors who have reflected social conditions in their works. The theoretical foundation of the addressed study is the theory of conceptual metaphor in cognitive semantics, which has elevated metaphor from a merely aesthetic means to an approach for cognition and contemplating. This study, adopting qualitative and quantitative analysis method with a comparative eastern European school, strives to answer this question that how and how frequent common social themes used by Houshang Golshiri and Najib Mahfouz in their two novels are conceptualized. The findings of the study imply that dealing with social matters, especially love, women, humanism, tendency to the past, social environment of the two authors, and subjectivism are among similarities between the two authors which are conceptualized in the form of conceptual metaphor. In these two novels, the ontological and structural metaphors have a high frequency, but the directional one is fewer seen. 
Introduction:
The social contexts of the literature formation are one of the most important and fundamental topics of East European comparative literature school. Hoshang Golshiri (1379-1316) and Najib Mahfouz (1911-2006 AD) are the two Iranian and Egyptian realist writers. Political and social conditions are embedded in their works as deep layers, in such a way that their fictional works reflect social issues of Iranian and Egyptian societies. Considering the category of transferring thoughts and concepts through language in everyday context, the important role played by conceptual metaphor and the metaphorical language is undeniable. They are used abundantly in our everyday language with the aim of defining social thoughts and intellectual concerns of two great Iranian and Egyptian storywriters, namely Hoshang Golshiri and Najib Mahfouz. This study investigates and analyzes conceptual metaphors in two realist works by the two mentioned writers: Ayenehaye Dardar and Al- Less Wal-Kelab. The comparative study of social themes in the form of conceptual metaphor is conducted with the aim of achieving common points which reveal the intellectual and socio-cultural convergence of two societies in a certain period of time. Having that in mind, this research seeks to answer the two following questions:

How do Houshang Golshiri and Najib Mahfouz conceptualize their social thoughts in the form of conceptual metaphors in their novels?
Which of the conceptual metaphors with a social theme is more frequent in the novels of these two authors?

Method:
This research benefits from a mixed-method content analysis of conceptual metaphors, which, consequently, address the social concerns of two authors carrying on a comparative approach. The data used in this research is Ayenehaye Dardar and Al- Less Wal-Kelab which are the two novels that follow a critical approach to social issues. To that aim, the sentences related to the social theme in the form of conceptual metaphor were, prior to anything, selected and categorized based on common topics. The research method is to examine the areas of source domains in conceptualization of social issues, after which, the common topics of analysis and all types of its metaphors are extracted. Furthermore, the type of mapping and their source and target are presented in the form of tables and graphs.
Results and Discussion:
In the current study, the six major topics of social matters, love, woman, nostalgia, subjectivism, and humanism are covered and their conceptual metaphors are explained. Both authors hold a negative view of the world in their novels, and this is originated in the suffocating societies where they lived. They also hold a negative view of human in the form of a conceptual metaphor. In "Al- Less Wal-Kelab", the hero of the novel, Saeed Mehran, who is a deep justice seeker, is a thief and a murderer of two innocents. This signifies the author's negative and humiliated view of human beings. Throughout the story, a type of despair reigns over the people of Saeed Mehran's community. Among the other themes found in the works of the two authors is the emphasis on subjectivism, which is the main foundation of conceptual metaphors. Due to the predominant suffocation and oppression all over the society, they are not allowed to mention the events of their societies clearly and openly, and , as the result, Najib Mahfouz and Golshiri pay attention to their inner world. One of the other conceptual metaphors alongside a social theme, which appears in these two novels, is love.
Conclusion:
The analysis of the qualitative content of conceptual metaphors in two novels show that the authors' views on these social issues are influenced by their personal experiences in society; in such a way that Najib Mahfouz has a positive approach to love. Furthermore, he has conceptualized this mental concept with objective issues such as clean land, tent, tree, hairdresser, etc. Mahfouz reactes to some of the females’ issues in the Egyptian society resulting in prostitution and debauchery carrying concepts such as pain, torment, and a beach constantly exposed to violent waves. Furthermore, he conceptualizes women using a conceptual metaphor and, this way, he shows his own social criticism towards the chaotic society. Unlike Najib Mahfouz, Hoshang Golshiri has a positive view of woman and considers woman as a tree with high volume of roots that can carry the heavy burden of life challenges. Both authors carry a negative perspectivvec toward human in the form of a conceptual metaphor and have embodied this prespective through the objective concepts such as predatory man, a worthless object, a killer, etc. This is due to illustrating the futility and despair in the society after the crises of the world war. Among other conceptual social metaphors in the novels of two authors is the social environment, which both authors have in common in this field and have conceptualized it with "enemy". This negative view of the world originates from the suffocating societies in which the two authors live. Categories such as the contradiction between authentic traditional values and modern material values, and between tradition and modernity in all its fields have been the focus of writers. The effects of abandoning tradition and turning to modernity have mainly expressed by both writers in their works. On the other hand, according to the belief of the two authors in their thoughts, they have significantly represented the mind and thought with positive concepts such as plant, machine, rope and strong building, covering the ugliness, etc. The quantitative content analyses of two novels also show that ontological and structural metaphors have a higher frequency than directional ones. The frequency of social themes in the form of conceptual metaphors in two novels shows that paying attention to the world and human being have the highest frequency, whereas returning to the past and feeling of nostalgia have the lowest frequency. This attention to the present world and not sinking into the past and previous feelings imply the pain of the two authors and also placing themselves in the center of social life issues at that time and not leaving themselves in the past.