One Thousand and One Nights

“‘Give me in marriage to this King: either I shall die and be a ransom for the daughters of Moslems, or live and be the cause of their deliverance.’”

Shahrazad resolves to sacrifice her comfort and security and put herself in harm’s way to help her father, Shahriyar’s vizier, and to save the women of her kingdom. In some ways, this is her commitment to redeem all women in the eyes of the King. Shahrazad is the central character in that she imparts the tales in One Thousand and One Nights to her king in an effort to redeem women and prevent her own demise.

“‘Allah has sent you one who is not only a barber of great repute, but also a master of the arts and sciences: one who is not only deeply versed in alchemy, astrology, mathematics, and architecture, but also […] well schooled in the arts of logic, rhetoric, and elocution, the theory of grammar, and the commentaries on the Koran.’”

This quote provides comic relief in the sense that the barber purports to be a humble and quiet man while he praises himself quite grandly and is endlessly chatty. The quote also harkens to this period in Islamic history known as the Golden Age of Islam when Baghdad was a world-renowned center of learning.

“‘When you are alone with her, let your words be loving and your deeds lusty. Thus shall her beauty and all her wealth be yours.’”

The shadowy old women tells this to the barber’s fifth brother, Al-Ashar. The quote demonstrates a common theme throughout the work: The promise of possessing a woman of beauty and great wealth seduces men. In the end, Al-Ashar obtains neither, getting a beating instead.