Research in the field of literature, in connection with various sciences such as psychology, sociology, history, linguistics, etc., shows the multiple capabilities of literature. Among the various sciences, psychology is closely related to literature and can be used in
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Research in the field of literature, in connection with various sciences such as psychology, sociology, history, linguistics, etc., shows the multiple capabilities of literature. Among the various sciences, psychology is closely related to literature and can be used in the analysis of literary works. Among its many branches, personality psychology is a suitable means for examining fictional characters. Among the various theories of personality, the pyramid model of Abraham Maslow, the American humanist psychologist, is an indicator and a process that can be used to identify personalities. This pyramid is a suitable model for recognizing the characteristics of an idealist and seeks his realization in literary texts. Among the various literary works, Ferdowsi's Shāhnāmeh is one of the idealistic works. Race, essence, art, and wisdom are four elements that, according to Ferdowsi, can develop a person's mind and action. Man possesses reality and surreal, intellection and commitment, and in a broad sense, wisdom and myth. The characters' selves of Shāhnāmeh is a realm that can help identifying their human status. The central question of this research is the psychological and personality recognition of the characters and whether other psychological knowledge of the characters can be reached by psychological study. The present descriptive-analytical study seeks to show that among many characters in this work, Zāl can be an example of a self-fulfilling person in Maslow's theory. He is one of the prominent characters of Shāhnāmeh who can entirely connect wisdom and myth and is able to reach the stage of self-actualization. The significant finding of this paper is that Zāl is the model of those who seek their realization, and his mythical-epic character has the characteristics of self-fulfillment. His characteristics include a clear perception of reality, problem-solving, negative culturalism, spontaneity, populist temperament, acceptance of others, self and nature.
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