THE WESTS VIEW OF THE ORIENTAL WOMAN BASED ON THE FRAME STORY OF THE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS
The Thousand and One Nights, a collection of about 200 stories, is probably the most famous piece of Arabic literature in the West. It includes the adventures of such well-known characters as Aladdin, Ali Baba, and Sinbad. The stories of the Arabian Nights are folk tales from Arabia, Egypt, India, Persia, and other countries. The work in its present form was written in Arabic about 1500. In the early 1700's, Jean Antoine Galland translated the Arabian Nights into French. John Payne and Sir Richard Francis Burton wrote English translations of the collection in the 1880's. According to the Occident (west) the Orient (east) is an exotic and mysterious land. The sources of this assumption are the stories in The Thousand and One Nights. The following essay describes how these stories contributed to the western view of the eastern/oriental women.
In summary, the westerners look at an oriental/eastern woman as a beautiful and powerful seductress; an object to desire without possibility of love. She asks her sister to come to the bedchamber on the wedding night and request permission for Sharazad to tell one last story. ne Nights, also called Arabian Nights, begins with the story of King Shahriyar, who has learned that his wife has been unfaithful. custom to go out in quest of pleasure and amusement: - from the Tale of The Hunchback). In some regions of the world, this view/description will be derogatory and in others glorifying. Jinni of gigantic stature carrying a chest. He orders her killed and vows to marry a new maiden each night and have her beheaded the next morning. In the story of Shahriyar his wife deceives him and ruins his life and leads him to assume/believe that all women were unfaithful and character less. and there rose form the box a beautiful young girl: - from the Prologue). In my opinion it's not easy to decide whether this kind of an approach to oriental women is commendable or slanderous. By then, the king has become very fond of her stories and also of her that he spares her life. One of the king's officials has a beautiful and talented daughter, named Sharazad, who insists on being the ruler's bride.
Common topics in this essay:
Arabian Nights,
King Shahriyar,
Thousand Nights,
Tale Hunchback,
According Occident,
India Persia,
Francis Burton,
thousand nights,
arabian nights,
Baba Sinbad,
Antoine Galland,
story king,
stories thousand nights,
stories thousand,
|
Acceptance Essays
