Shahryar And Scheherazade: The Struggle Between Men And Women

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Death. One thousand and ninety-five women, dead. When over one thousand women die at the hands of a scorned king, Scheherazade, a woman, is placed before him. Unlike the other women, she was not sent to him against her will, she volunteered (1001 Arabian Nights 19). Any sane person would say she had a death wish. How could a young girl willingly lie with King Shahryar, knowing he lies with a new woman every night...only to kill her in the morning? The answer is simple: fairy tales. Fairy tales, stories, myths, folklore, fables, etc. motivate Scheherazade to volunteer herself. To understand the power behind fairy tales, an understanding of the story of King Shahryar and Scheherazade is necessary. Not only is the importance of fairy tales evident …show more content…

The king’s ability to obsess over his wife also shows double standards between men and women, because a concubine could not shut herself inside and obsess over her “master’s” sexual encounters, so why should Shah Zaman get to do so? One day, in the midst of mulling, King Shah Zaman looks out a window onto his brother’s pleasure grounds (1001 Arabian Nights 5). There, King Zaman witnesses his brother’s wife have sex with a “blackamoor” (1001 Arabian Nights 5). The concubines cheat on the king as well. Upon seeing this act of infamy, King Shah Zaman realizes that his brother being betrayed is worse than his own personal betrayal, for his brother is a greater king than himself. This realization heals King Zaman from his sickly state, so that when his brother returns home from hunting, King Shahryar questions his brother’s healthy glow (1001 Arabian Nights 6). In Islam, polygamy is allowed, but polyandry is not (Understanding Islam np). This double standard makes it acceptable for men to have wives as they please, and women to be stuck to the same man, who is out and about with whomever/whenever.This Islamic law gives men more agency, and creates a sort of domestic sphere for women. Psychologically, this may cause women to want to cheat on their husbands, because it gives …show more content…

King Shahryar decides to lie with a new woman every night, only to take her virginity and kill her the next morning (1001 Arabian Nights 11). For three years, King Shahryar stays on track, killing one thousand and ninety five women. After those three years, the king’s wazir was having trouble finding new women for the king to lie with, for they were all running in the opposite direction (1001 Arabian Nights 12). That is when the Wazir’s own daughter, Scheherazade, made a courageous move. Scheherazade had read one thousand histories, stories, fables, fairy tales etc. whatever one chooses to call them, Scheherazade was very well versed in story-telling. Through these tales, Scheherazade had the courage to offer herself up to lie with the king, well knowing that she would be dead the next morning (1001 Arabian Nights 12-3). Scheherazade had a plan to save herself, however, and it involved her younger sister, Dunyazad. Scheherazade was brought to the king by her father, the wazir (who only agreed to offer up his daughter because Scheherazad blackmailed him). Scheherazade’s courage from the fairytales empowers her, and it causes her to become incharge/a woman of action, which is not common in Islamic culture. Scheherazade defies the double standards/sexisms in 1001 Arabian Nights, and is refreshing to the book’s constant sexisms/standards. Scheherazade made love to the king, but started crying during their love-making.

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