A Sociological Analysis of Feminine Identity in the Novel My Share (The Book of Fate): A Narratological–Feminist Reading

My Share (published in English as The Book of Fate) by Parinoush Saniee is among the seminal narratives of contemporary Iranian women’s fiction, portraying the lived experience of a female protagonist against the backdrop of social and political transformations from the 1960s to the 1990s. This study analyzes the novel’s narrative structure and representation of feminine identity using a qualitative descriptive–analytical approach. Labov’s six-stage narratological model is combined with an existential feminist reading. The novel is divided into four main episodes, and the narrative components of each section are examined. The findings show that, despite overall coherence, the narrative is episodic, with plot-driving actions largely shaped by external forces such as family, patriarchal structures, and socio-political conditions. Feminist analysis indicates that the narrator’s agency is mostly constrained and reactive, and her identity is defined within traditional roles; however, a gradual movement from objecthood toward self-aware subjectivity emerges. The final monologue marks the climax of this awareness, as the narrator revisits her life and exposes underlying structural constraints. Overall, the study demonstrates that integrating Labov’s model with existential feminist analysis provides a more comprehensive understanding of feminine identity formation, suggesting that a woman’s “share” lies not in choice, but in narrating lived experience and attaining critical consciousness.