The Symbolic Representation of the Characters' Inner Psychological States in Pedro Paramo

Abstract

Juan Rulfo (1917–1986) published Pedro Páramo for the first time in 1955. Its Urdu translation, titled Banjhar Maidan (The Barren Plain), was published by Scheherzade, Karachi, in 2013, translated by Ahmed Mushtaq. This translation became the primary source of introduction to Juan Rulfo and Pedro Páramo for Urdu readers. The novel presents the rural society of Mexico, the political disillusionment that followed the Mexican Revolution, and the collapse of the feudal landholding system through a rich symbolic framework. It is a profound and multilayered narrative in which the boundaries between life and death dissolve, drawing the reader into a world where the living and the dead appear to coexist on the same plane of existence. This article examines the psychological states and inner experiences of the characters in Pedro Páramo through the symbolic motif of water, which recurs throughout the novel, in an effort to understand their emotional and mental complexities.

References:

1. Zia-ul-Hasan, *Aasman Key Rozan Sey*, Tarteeb-o-Intikhab: Mushtaq Ahmad, Lahore: Sang-e-Meel Publications, 2024, p. 154
2. Shaista Shareef, "Juan Rulfo Key Novel 'Banjar Maidan' Ka Tajziyati Mutalia", *Tahqeeq Nama*, Shumara 25, 2019, p. 208
3. *Kulliyat-e-Ahmad Mushtaq*, Lahore: Sang-e-Meel Publications, 2021, p. 43
4. Juan Rulfo, Mutarjim: Ahmad Mushtaq, *Banjar Maidan*, Karachi: Shahrzaad, 2013, p. 30
5. Juan Rulfo, *Banjar Maidan*, p. 33
6. Ibid, p. 42
7. Ibid, p. 43
8. Ibid, p. 114