10/20 1001 Nights (#8a)

Motifs
There are several motifs shown in "The Thousand and One Nights." An example is the role of women in Arab society; both the wickedness and the goodness of women is seen. The wickedness of women is seen when the wife of Shahrayar, a king of Persia, cheats on her husband with a kitchen boy (1773). The king comes to the conclusion that "women are not to be trusted" (1773). He further believes in this idea when he visits his brother in a neighboring kingdom. He sees ten slaves have sex with ten concubines and loses his faith in women (1776). When he returns home, he decides to kill his wife and "marry for one night only and kill woman the next morning, in order to save himself from the wickedness and cunning of women" (1778). This view of women is countered with the appearance of a good woman who comes to save the reputation of women and their lives. The woman, Shahrazad, decides to marry the king, but tells him a story each night to keep his attention away from his negative view of women. She stops each night before finishing the story to enthrall him. Through listening to the stories, the king begins to heal and eventually abandons his killing policy (1771). Shahrazad shows the ability of women to have courage, intelligence, and goodness. Another motif shown is heroism. Shahrazad can be seen as a hero for stepping in to stop the king from his murderous actions. She decides to offer herself as a wife to the king despite the objections of her father. She is aware of her fate, so that she may "either succeed in saving the people or perish and die like the rest" (1778). She showed her intelligence, wit, and bravery in her nights with the king.