Possible Exam Questions
How does the writer create tension?
How is Sheherezade presented?
How is Sultan Schahriar presented?
SUMMARY
This is the introduction to one of the most famous story collections in the world: The Thousand and One Nights, also known in English as The Arabian Nights. This extract is the framing narrative to all the other stories and sets up the central problem: a blood-thirsty (mad?) king, Schahriar, is murdering his way through all the women in the kingdom.
*framing narrative = the story that contains all the other stories, e.g. Wuthering Heights and Frankenstein both have framing narratives that introduce what we think of as the main story. Other examples are The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, and Boccaccioâs Decameron. Think of it as a picture frame.
How is Schahriar presented?
Schahriar rules a âprosperous and powerfulâ kingdom. His line is âgreatâ and full of âpraisesâ. He voluntarily divides his kingdom with his beloved brother. They âloved each other tenderlyâ. He âlovedâ his first wife âmore than all the worldâ, and his âgreatest happinessâ was to please her. The language is elevated, gentle and generous with love as well as money and land. The transformation when he discovers her âshameâ (unfaithfulness) is abrupt: âhe felt himself obliged to carry out the law of the landâ and has her killed.
âThe blow was so heavy that his mind almost gave way, and he declared that he was quite sure that at bottom all women were as wicked as the sultana, if you could only find them out, and that the fewer the world contained the better.â
The writer describes a shocking transformation, from tender, loving man to a murderer. Schahriar has only one thought: the fewer [women] the world contained the better. Through this, the writer shows how our judgement can be warped by emotions, and how quickly love turns to hate. Whatâs especially dangerous here is that Schahriarâs hate extends not just to his wife but to all women. His wife was proven unfaithful, but the other women are not. This brings to mind rulers who extend brutality to all, without justice or evidence. This story considers the problem of absolute power. When informed by love, itâs good. When informed by hate, itâs devastating. Extreme and dramatic stories such as these were often written to teach Kings, in a subtle, polite way, how (not) to use their power.
Each night, Schahriar marries a new wife. Each morning, he has her killed. Schahriarâs belief (all women must die), his great power and his proven determination to carry it all build tension: âevery day saw a girl married and a wife dead.â This is a particularly sinister (dark) image: the word âgirlâ suggests innocence, promise and fertility. The peopleâs reaction is âhorrorâ, âcriesâ and âlamentationsâ, and the sound of a âfather weeping for the loss of his daughter, in another perhaps a mother trembling for the fate of her childâ. Even those not directly affected realise they could be next. His subjects, who used to give him âblessingsâ now give him âcursesâ. This represents any dictator through history, ruling through fear and murder, killing the very people – innocence, fertility, hope – on which his power rests. The language (blessings/curses) shows transformation from one extreme to the other, and how quickly it occurs.
At this point we meet Scheherazade.
How is Scheherazade presented?
She is contrasted with her sister, who has âno particular giftsâ. Scheherazadeâs are so numerous it takes some time to list them. She is âclever and courageous in the highest degreeâ. The superlative (âhighestâ) emphasises how outstanding she is. Itâs interesting we learn she is âcleverâ, brave and highly educated first, and only later that âher beauty excelled that of any girl in the kingdom of Persia.â Her father, the âgrand-vizirâ (chief minister to the King) has educated her to the highest level in traditionally masculine subjects. This emphasises how loved, she is. We see this again when her father says âI can refuse you nothing that is just and reasonableâ. This emphasises the theme of justice and reason linked to Scheherezade and her father, in contrast to the Sultan. The love her father has for her builds tension when she demands to become Schahriarâs wife.
First, she says she is âdetermined to end this barbarous practiceâ. Weâve already been told she has âcourageâ; now we see it in action. Her wish to âdeliver the girls and mothers from the awful fate that hangs over them,â is truly noble: she will risk herself to save others. It also emphasises how monstrous Schahriar has become, that he has created this âawful fateâ. Her father thinks it would be âexcellentâ to end the deaths, but reacts with horror when he realises Scheherezade proposes to risk herself (as any father might). Whatâs interesting is that it takes a woman to challenge the Sultan. Even though her father is âjust and reasonableâ, he is still âdeliveringâ the girls to the sultan to be killed. This is a regime of terror. As a woman, Sheherezade has no power and will find herself – sooner or later – on the death list. From weakness, she finds strength. Unlike the men invested in the system, she has little to lose. Through the character of the Vizier, the writer shames men who silently enact the brutal wishes of dictators.
Her language is like a soldierâs. She knows âwellâ that she may die and says: âI am not afraid to think of it. If I fail, my death will be a glorious one, and if I succeed I shall have done a great service to my country.â Her father says âI shall never consent.â and asks her to think of her duty as a daughter. At this point, she becomes a disobedient, âobstinateâ daughter. In literature of this period, this was one of the worst things a girl could be, but ironically, it emphasises how noble she is. Alone, she stands up against her family and other peopleâs silence – to save them from something they all know is wrong.
The Sultanâs reaction is âastonishmentâ that his counsellor would âsacrifice your own daughter to me?â This scene emphasises the unnatural brutality of the regime, forcing fathers to kill their own daughters. The fact it is so open makes it worse. The Sultan tells the vizier: âyou will have to take her life yourself. If you refuse, I swear that your head shall pay forfeit.â The vizierâs obedience is almost tragic.
Once she gets her own way, Scheherazade tries to comfort her âgriefâ stricken father. Then she asks her sister to help her, painting a sweet picture of co-operation and mutual support. Whatâs surprising is the murderous Sultanâs human tenderness when he sees the âtears in her eyesâ. He asks to know whatâs wrong and grants her request.
âI have a sister who loves me as tenderly as I love her.â