The Arabian Nights' Entertainments: Selections: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Arabian Nights' Entertainments: Selections: Analysis of Major Characters" delves into a collection of enchanting tales featuring iconic characters, primarily revolving around themes of love, betrayal, and adventure. Central to the narrative is Shahriar, the Emperor of Persia and India, who, after being wronged, marries and executes a new bride each day, only to be captivated by Scheherazade, his clever wife, who prolongs her life by enchanting him with her storytelling over a thousand nights.
The collection includes a variety of intriguing figures, such as Sindbad the Sailor, whose epic voyages lead him to fantastical realms, and Ali Baba, a woodcutter who discovers a cave of treasures guarded by thieves. Other noteworthy characters include the ambitious brothers Houssain, Ali, and Ahmed, who vie for the love of Princess Nouronnihar, and Aladdin, a young man whose fortunes change dramatically upon acquiring a magical lamp. Through these characters and their intertwined tales, the narratives explore the complexities of human emotions and relationships while also providing moral lessons and reflections on virtue and vice. The richness of these stories makes "The Arabian Nights" a timeless exploration of narrative and character, inviting readers to reflect on their own values and experiences.
The Arabian Nights' Entertainments: Selections: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Unknown
First published: Alf layla wa-layla, fifteenth century (English translation, 1706–1708)
Genre: Short fiction
Locale: India, China, Persia, and Arabia
Plot: Folklore
Time: The legendary past
Shahriar, Emperor of Persia and India. Convinced of the unfaithfulness of all women, he vows to marry a new woman every day and have her executed the next morning.
Scheherazade, his wise and beautiful bride. On the night of their wedding, she begins to tell him a tale that so fascinates him that he stays her execution for a day so that he can learn the end of the story. The stories are continued for a thousand and one nights. Then, convinced of her worthiness, he bids her live and makes her his consort. The following are characters in some of her stories:
The King of the Black Isles, who nearly kills the lover of his unfaithful queen. She gets revenge by turning her husband's lower half into marble and his town and all its people into a lake of fish. A neighboring sultan kills the lover and deceives the queen into undoing all her enchantments; then she too is killed.
Sindbad the Sailor, who, in the course of his voyages, visits an island that is really the back of a sea monster; a valley of diamonds; an island inhabited by cannibal dwarfs and black one-eyed giants; and an underground river.
The Caliph Harun-al-Rashid of Baghdad, Sindbad's ruler.
Houssain, Ali, and Ahmed, sons of the Sultan of India. They compete for the hand of their father's ward; after an archery contest, Ali is proclaimed the winner, though Ahmed's arrow has gone so far that no one can find it.
Periebanou, a fairy living in a mountain, at whose door Ahmed finds his arrow. He marries her and with her help performs unreasonable tasks for his father, who has been persuaded by courtiers to be suspicious of his son, now secretive about his life and apparently rich and powerful. The sultan is killed by Periebanou's annoyed brother, and Ahmed succeeds him as sultan.
Princess Nouronnihar, the ward of the sultan. She is sought in marriage by the brothers. Ali wins her.
Ali Baba, a Persian woodcutter who happens upon a thieves' cave filled with riches.
Cassim, his greedy brother, who forgets the password, “Open Sesame,” and so cannot get out of the cave. The thieves kill him.
Morgiana, Ali Baba's beautiful slave. She discovers that the thieves are hiding in oil jars brought by their disguised captain to Ali Baba's house. Morgiana kills the robbers, is rewarded with her freedom, and becomes Ali Baba's son's wife.
Aladdin, a young vagabond in China who gets possession of a magic lamp and, through the power of its genie, gains incredible wealth and wins the sultan's daughter as his wife.