So the first half of the text The One Thousand and One Nights, the story is mainly about two king brothers that both find their wives committing adultery.  The first brother Shahzaman finds his wife sleeping with the kitchen boys and kills them both. He then goes to visit his brother Shahrayar and catches his sister in law also cheating with slaves that are disguised in woman’s clothing. Shahzaman has a hard time telling his brother but eventually tells him and they both decide to go on this journey. On this journey, they come across a demon who has imprisoned his wife in a chest. When he has taken her out of the chest and is fallen asleep, the wife sees the two brother and demands that they sleep with her. They realize that no matter what they do, they can’t control the woman. Shahrayar comes back to his town and kills his wife. Then he promises himself that he is never going to marry and have himself a new woman every day. He will sleep with her and then kill her. Shahrayar’s vizier is to find his king a new woman everyday but then his daughter offer’s herself to marry Shahrayar. Her father fears for her but she is fully aware of what will happen to her but still agrees to go on due to a plan that she has.

After reading this story, I wondered what I would do if I was to be in Shahzaman’s shoes. Would you be able to tell someone close to you that their partner is cheating on them and how would you tell them? What is that person didn’t believe you?

Also this seemed to be biased against woman. The women were caught to be doing wrong and were killed. Shahrayar’s wife was called a “slut” by the slave but what makes it okay for Shahrayar to sleep with a new woman every day and kill them? Just because of what happened to them, does that mean every woman are the same? Instead of blaming the woman, maybe something was wrong with the men in the story?

This story also reminded me a little of Gilgamesh. How Gilgamesh would rape any woman and brides to be just what Shahrayar is pretty much doing. Only after reading the first half, Shahrazad (the vizier’s older daughter) seems to be that she will play a part similarly like Enkidu.