LOVE AS ETHICAL CHOICE, SOCIAL CONTRACT, AND MYSTICAL QUEST: THE “OSHIQLIK” MOTIF IN FRENCH AND UZBEK LITERATURE
Abstract
This article examines how oshiqlik (the experience of being in love, loverhood, and love’s ethical/psychological burdens) is represented in French and Uzbek literary traditions from medieval to modern periods. Using a comparative literary approach, it traces how love becomes (1) a socially coded practice in medieval French fin’amor (courtly love), (2) a conflict between passion and duty in French classical and realist narratives, (3) a mystical and moral pathway in Uzbek classical poetics shaped by Sufi-inflected ideas of ishq (love), and (4) a site of modernity debates in early Uzbek prose where love confronts tradition, gender norms, and social change. The discussion highlights shared plot structures (forbidden love, tests, sacrifice) but emphasizes different cultural “logics” of love: French literature often treats love as a tension between individual desire and social institutions, while Uzbek literature frequently frames love as a movement between earthly attachment and spiritual meaning, and later as a critique of restrictive social customs. The article concludes that “oshiqlik” functions as a highly productive cultural code in both traditions—yet its dominant meanings shift according to historical transformations in marriage systems, moral philosophy, and concepts of the self.
Keywords
French literature; Uzbek literature; love motif; oshiqlik; ishq; courtly love; Sufism; realism; comparative literature; cultural codes
References
- Barthes, R. (1977). A Lover’s Discourse: Fragments (orig. Fragments d’un discours amoureux).
- Capellanus, A. (12th c.). De amore (often cited in courtly-love scholarship). (Context overview).
- Girard, R. (1961). Deceit, Desire, and the Novel: Self and Other in Literary Structure. (Mimetic desire overview).
- Lafayette, M. de. (1678). La Princesse de Clèves. (Public-domain English text and plot overview).
- Navoiy, A. (1484). Layli va Majnun (as part of Khamsa). (Basic description and date).
- Qodiriy, A. (1920s). Oʻtkan kunlar (Bygone Days / Past Days). (Serialization and status as early Uzbek novel).
- Shokirova, M. (2025). “The Theme of Love and Romance in Uzbek …” (discussion of arranged marriage constraints in modern Uzbek literary context).
- “Courtly love.” (n.d.). Overview of medieval courtly-love concept and features.
- “Love and its Critics – The Troubadours and fin’amor.” (n.d.). Discussion of troubadour love discourse and its complexities.
- “Tristan and Iseult.” (n.d.). Overview of the romance tradition, love potion motif, and illicit love plot.
- Library of Congress. (n.d.). “Unraveling ‘Ishq”: divine love (ishq-e haqiqi) and earthly love (ishq-e majazi).
- Rajavaliev, B. (n.d.). “Understanding the Philosophy of Divine …” (definition and use of ishq in Sufi poetry).
- Latipov, H. R. (2020). “Alisher Navoi on love, enlightenment and awareness.”