Reading Notes: Part A for Week 6: Arabian Nights - Scheherazade
For this section of the reading, I was most interested in the story of Scheherazade. It was interesting to read a story told from Scheherazade and then follow that story with subsequent stories read by other storytellers within Scheherazade's story. The entire reading section reminded me of Inception, where it's a story within a story within a story and so on and so forth.
The tale of Scheherazade begins with Sultan Schahriar, who had a wife whom he loved dearly. Yet, he learned of her deception and ordered the grand-vizir to put her to death. He declared that he was adamant that all women were as wicked as his former wife. As such, he married a fresh wife every evening and had her killed the following morning. The grand-vizir was tasked with providing the Sultan with a fresh bride each day.
Scheherazade, daughter of the grand-vizir, courageous in the highest degree, begged her father to allow her to web the Sultan. Scheherazade was determined to stop the barbarous practice of the Sultan and save the women from their imminent doom.
Her father, thinking that his eldest daughter has lost her mind, tries to dissuade her from following through with her wish of marrying the Sultan. It was most painful for the grand-vizir as he would have to plunge a dagger through the heart of his own daughter.
Still, Scheherazade persists and her father gives in to her wishes. The grand-vizir approaches the Sultan and informs him of his new fresh bride. The Sultan agrees to the wishes of Scheherazade. However, before the marriage ceremony, Scheherazade asks her sister, Dinarzade, to aid her in her plan against the Sultan.
So, Scheherazade arrives at the palace of the Sultan and begs for sister to accompany them as they slept together, as this will be the last night they share together. Dinarzade, following her sister's plan, woke her an hour before the sun rose, and asked for a story to be told.
This began the storytelling sequence from Scheherazade, which quickly turns into a rabbit hole and myriad of various stories. So, Scheherazade's plan seems to be working, distracting the Sultan with a story for each passing day so that her life may be spared. This story illustrates the courage and cleverness that Scheherazade possesses, as she has risked her own life in order to trick the Sultan into sparing her life in exchange for stories for each passing day. It also captures the storytelling prowess of the various storytellers that follow.
Bibliography: Scheherazade from The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1898)
The tale of Scheherazade begins with Sultan Schahriar, who had a wife whom he loved dearly. Yet, he learned of her deception and ordered the grand-vizir to put her to death. He declared that he was adamant that all women were as wicked as his former wife. As such, he married a fresh wife every evening and had her killed the following morning. The grand-vizir was tasked with providing the Sultan with a fresh bride each day.
Scheherazade, daughter of the grand-vizir, courageous in the highest degree, begged her father to allow her to web the Sultan. Scheherazade was determined to stop the barbarous practice of the Sultan and save the women from their imminent doom.
Her father, thinking that his eldest daughter has lost her mind, tries to dissuade her from following through with her wish of marrying the Sultan. It was most painful for the grand-vizir as he would have to plunge a dagger through the heart of his own daughter.
Still, Scheherazade persists and her father gives in to her wishes. The grand-vizir approaches the Sultan and informs him of his new fresh bride. The Sultan agrees to the wishes of Scheherazade. However, before the marriage ceremony, Scheherazade asks her sister, Dinarzade, to aid her in her plan against the Sultan.
So, Scheherazade arrives at the palace of the Sultan and begs for sister to accompany them as they slept together, as this will be the last night they share together. Dinarzade, following her sister's plan, woke her an hour before the sun rose, and asked for a story to be told.
This began the storytelling sequence from Scheherazade, which quickly turns into a rabbit hole and myriad of various stories. So, Scheherazade's plan seems to be working, distracting the Sultan with a story for each passing day so that her life may be spared. This story illustrates the courage and cleverness that Scheherazade possesses, as she has risked her own life in order to trick the Sultan into sparing her life in exchange for stories for each passing day. It also captures the storytelling prowess of the various storytellers that follow.
Scheherazade - Courtesy of Wikipedia
Bibliography: Scheherazade from The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1898)
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