Extra Credit Reading Notes: Arabian Nights, Part A

(Scheherazade with her sister, Dinarzade; source: Wikipedia)

My favorite part of Arabian Nights was the overarching frame tale itself, so that is what I focused my notes on.

Plot:

• Sultan Schahriar had a wife that he was completely devoted to and in love with. After many years of marriage he discovered that she had deceived him and ordered her to be killed.
• He was disillusioned by his wife's betrayal and was convinced that all women were as bad her. He resolved to marry a new wife every day and have her strangled the following morning. The person tasked with finding and killing the wives was the grand-vizir.
• Everyone was horrified by the formerly kind Sultan's behavior and terrified about the fate of their daughters and sisters.
• The grand-vizir himself had two daughters, Scheherazade and Dinarzade. Scheherazade was incredibly intelligent, brave, and beautiful. One day, she approached her father with a desire to stop the Sultan's barbaric practice. She then asked her father for a favor. The grand-vizir assented and Scheherazade said she wanted him to pick her to be the Sultan's next bride. The grand-vizir was struck with despair and implored his daughter to change her mind. She was resolute and so he gave in to her demand.
• The Sultan was surprised to hear that the grand-vizir was giving up his own daughter and reminded him that he would have to kill her when the time came. The grand-vizir said he had accepted his fate.
• Hearing this news, Scheherazade approached her sister Dinarzade with a favor to ask. She told Dinarzade that she planned on begging the Sultan to allow Dinarzade to reside in their bedchamber for it would be her last night alive. Once the Sultan consented, Dinarzade would have to wake Scheherazade an hour before dawn and ask her to tell one of her stories. Dinarzade agreed to the plan and Scheherazade was delivered to the Sultan.
• Scheherazade then begged the Sultan to allow Dinarzade to be present, to which he consented. Dinarzade then woke Scheherazade an hour before dawn and asked her to tell a story. Scheherazade asks the Sultan for permission to do so and he grants her wish.

Characters:

• Sultan - disillusioned, unsympathetic man, betrayed by his first wife, seeks to exact revenge on all women
• Grand-vizir - loyal to the Sultan, has a lot of love for his daughters, is pained to see Scheherazade put herself at risk
• Scheherazade - brave, wise, and beautiful, confident in her ability to end the Sultan's terrifying practice
• Dinarzade - Scheherazade's sister, loyal to her despite risk to her own life

Bibliography. The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1898).