Investigating the Narrative Structure of the Novel "Al-Hob Taht al-matar" Based on the Grimas model

Introduction
Grimas was a well-known narratologist influenced by linguists such as Propp, Saussure, and Jakobson. He limited narratives to stories and believed that the emergence of stories was based on the confrontation of actors. According to Grimas, actions shape fictional characters and characters have their actions in stories. His ideas resulted in the action-oriented model, which is still relevant today. In this model, a character's entire being is defined by the role they play in the story. Grimas designed this model to modify Propp's model and evaluate narratives from a new perspective. In his book Semantic Structure (1963), he summarized his work using the concept of action and presented his ideas with clarity and simplicity. Grimas' action model presents a new understanding of the character, where the character's role or action is an abstract or spiritual concept that can represent a person, animal, or even an idea.
Numerous studies have explored the use of Grimas' action model in modern novels, highlighting its effectiveness in complex narratives. Naguib Mahfouz's "Al-Hob Taht al-matar" is a realistic and critical novel that tackles political and social issues, presenting an accurate portrayal of Egyptian society during a specific period. The novel's overall narrative structure can be analyzed using Grimas' action pattern, as well as its narrative chains and propositions.
Methodology
Through the use of Grimas' action model and the descriptive-analytical method, this research has analyzed Naguib Mahfouz's novel "Al-Hob Taht al-matar."
Results and Discussion
An analysis of the novel "Al-Hob Taht al-matar" revealed that the six actors and narrative chains proposed by Grimas are fully present in this novel. The structure of the story is planned in such a way that the events happen one after the other in a linear timeline. In the plot, the events take place in a continuous chain and follow each other. This coherent and interconnected structure appears in five separate situations. In the first situation, which is the "romantic relationship between Marzouq and Aliat," Marzouq is the subject actor, Aliat is the target actor, and the goal and object of value is connected and married to Aliat. Suniyah is Marzouq's accomplice, and Fatna Nazar is his antagonist. In the second situation under the title: "Samra's becoming interested in reasons and making inappropriate requests from him", Samra's active and active actor is the valuable object of satisfying the reasons, the actor of mental disorder and same-sex orientation, the actor of pathological thoughts and sexual deviations that lead him to his goal. In the first position, we have an unnamed character who guides and serves as the antagonist of Hosni Hijazi. Moving on to the third position, titled "Mani Zahran's Entry into Cinema and Acting", we have Mani Zahran, an active and renowned actor famous for his roles in Suniye and Aliat. He is an anti-actor of Mohammad Rashvan and a valuable asset to the world of cinema. The fourth situation, titled "Ali Zahran's Revenge on Mohammad Rashvan", revolves around Dr. Ali Zahran, who is an active ego and a valuable tool for taking revenge on Mohammad Rashvan. He has a strong sense of duty towards his sister and is determined to defend her lost rights. He is also an accomplice of Hassan's and a noteworthy character in this position. Lastly, we have the fifth position, titled "Ebrahim's Struggle for the Homeland". The active actor in this position is Ibrahim, who is motivated by his love for the country and is the goal and value object of the struggle for the nation. He is an active actor in the homeland and opposes the neglect of Ibrahim's friends and people. He is also a prominent character in Suniyeh.
Conclusion
The research findings on the novel "Al-Hob Taht al-matar" revealed that its general structure can be summarized in five main situations, which took place in a linear and chain-like manner. The characters in the novel played their roles according to Grimas's action model, particularly in the six actions. Furthermore, all the components related to the narrative chains and propositions of Grimas were present in the novel. The findings also showed that the novel had all three narrative chains of contract, dissociation and performance. The most significant contract in the novel was the marriage contract, which was sometimes successful and sometimes unsuccessful. The events in the novel mostly focused on the activists' efforts to achieve success and fame, which often did not come true. The events and movements of the novel often flowed from positive to negative, and few events moved from negative to positive. Regarding the narrative propositions, the novel had all three descriptive, modal, and transitive propositions. The features and characteristics of the key characters of the story, including "Aliat, Marzouq, Hosni Hijazi, Ibrahim, Mani and Fitna Nazar," were presented in detail according to the occurrence of situations related to each of them. In the different situations of the novel, different characters had different goals and aspirations, all of whom faced obstacles in achieving their goals and aspirations with special methods. The actions related to the actors of this novel changed under the influence of the change of position of each actor, and sometimes, one value was replaced by another value.