In class we discussed for The Thousand and One Nights the King Shahzaman throwing his wife from the top of the palace into the ground far below. This action was symbolic of the king casting his wife out of his favor, among other things, such as her fall from grace or Shahzaman’s wife being cast into the dirt, where Shahzaman thinks she belongs.
This theme repeats over the rest of The Thousand and One Nights throughout the stories which Shahrazad is telling to prevent the king from killing her. In the Story of the Merchant and the Demon, the Merchant falls from his wealth and status to weeping and groveling for his life in front of the demon.
Seeing this repeat in the text does raise questions, such as why this theme is repeated and if it is revealing a cultural value to us readers. I believe it is. I think that these stories serve as a warning; don’t get used to rank and privilege because you can lose it in an instant. Shahzaman’s wife was careless and was caught by her husband and then was killed and thrown out. The merchant was careless, throwing seeds left and right, and then had to pay for it by crying and almost losing his life.
This theme of fleeting wealth is one which is common and exists to this day. Even Bob Dylan touched on this theme in his song Like a Rolling Stone, writing “Once upon a time you dressed so fine,/ you threw the bums a dime in your prime,/ didn’t you? But now you don’t talk so loud /Now you don’t seem so proud/About having to be scrounging your next meal.” So it is interesting to see that this theme does date back so far.
I see your point of avoiding rank as a top priority due to a chance there might be a loss. I believe a similar situation can be seen in Gilgamesh. Although the king himself is not the actual dead person, he still goes through his downfall. Believing that he was so powerful, Gilgamesh has a shift from the idea of immortality to death. Ironically kings should not have fears; however, he experiences the fear of mortality. This shows that right after Enkidu’s death he automatically changes his attitude from tyrant to humane. His downfall is not his own death, but the realization of his true fear.
I like how you used the Bob Dylan’s song as a comparison to the story and its theme. I also agree that the stories support the idea of not taking wealth for granted but the theme that I thought the stories were trying to illustrate was slightly different. I believed the theme was; It doesn’t matter how much power a person has, everyone always will face problems and never have full control over their lives. Shahrayar and his brother both had a lot of power and had wives that were unfaithful to them. The Demon that fell asleep under the tree when Shahrayar and his brother were hiding also did not have full control over the woman he held in the box because she had slept with 98 other men without him even knowing.Power and wealth does not excuse anyone from problems that life has in store for them.
I hadn’t notice this before- but you’ve done a great job at proving your point about this recurring theme of never having too much security about where one is in their life now. While someone can be a king one second, they can very well be overtaken and be a prisoner the next. I also like how you pointed out that wealth and power cannot guarantee security. While Shaharayar’s brother seems to be one of the best kings in the land and yet, seems to meet the same fate as himself. King Dushyanta seems noble and gracious, but he couldn’t escape the curse of a sage. Gilgamesh was two thirds divine, and still had to undergo the trauma and tragedy of a death.
I also agree with the points that you made in your argument. I never really noticed up until now the recurring theme of fleeting security. It is a point made three times in, ” A Thousand and One Nights” and I think it does derive from cultural values in my own opinion. Based off of various online websites, there is an overwhelming belief in the Islamic culture that God blesses people in various way and that those blessing could be lost when committing sinful acts. In the story with King Shahzaman, his wife is doing the wrong thing when committing fornication and her blessings are lost because of it. Overall, the theme of fleeting security is a point made throughout ‘A Thousand & One Nights”.