Analysis of “Games” and Ego States in Bahram Sadeghi’s Novel Malakut Based on Eric Berne’s Transactional Analysis Approach

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 PhD student in Persian Language and Literature, Faculty of Literature, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran

2 Associate Professor of Persian Language and Literature, Department of Persian Language and Literature, Faculty of Literature, Alzahra University, Tehran

3 Assistant Professor of Persian Language and Literature, Department of Persian Language and Literature, Faculty of Literature, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran

10.29252/kavosh.2026.24337.3820

Abstract

Bahram Sadeghi’s novella Malakut (The Celestial Realm), with its multilayered dialogues, complex characters, and behavioral contradictions, offers significant potential for analyzing psychological mechanisms. This study examines how behavioral contradictions among characters emerge through “games” and seeks to reveal the hidden layers of personality based on Eric Berne’s Transactional Analysis (TA) theory. The central research question is how “games,” through shifts in ego states and the formation of complementary, crossed, and ulterior transactions, expose the gap between characters’ overt behavior and their covert motives. Employing a descriptive-analytical method, the study analyzes dialogues, actions, and interactions of the main characters as primary data. Findings indicate that “games” in Malakut primarily arise from shifts in ego states and ulterior transactions, guiding interpersonal relationships through covert messages, psychological strokes, and repetitive behavioral patterns. These “games” manifest in behavioral contradictions such as Dr. Hatem’s duality of killing and giving life, M.L.’s oscillation between revenge and apparent friendship, and the Saqi’s interplay of betrayal and love, demonstrating that characters’ overt behaviors do not always align with their inner motives. Consequently, psychological “games” are not merely patterns of interaction but function as mechanisms that reveal the discrepancy between external conduct and internal motivation, thereby uncovering hidden personality layers. These findings enable a reinterpretation of character contradictions in Malakut through the interplay of ego states, transactions, and covert motives.

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References

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