The Dichotomy of Female Representation

Analysis using a gender specific lens

Jacob Picotte

The Story of King Shahrayar and Shahrazad invites readers at large on a journey not only geographically but emotionally as well. The underlining theme both explicitly and implicitly states that women possess cunning abilities. By analyzing the text through a gender oriented lens it is fair to say that the author views females at large as being deceitful. Interestingly enough, deceit in this particular context happens to have both positive and negative implications.

Merriam-Webster’s dictionary states that synonyms for deceit are as follows: disingenuous, untrustworthy, and two-faced. Much of the story involving the two brothers touches on these aforementioned attributes. To begin, background context is helpful when analyzing the plot and the characters involved. Historians believe that this piece of literature was written around the ninth century. Women of more elite social classes have been more restricted in regards to movement in public and the choice of clothing that they wear. This conservative nature displayed status as poorer less fortunate counterparts took part in polar practices. Men in hierarchal rule also had several wives and many times mistresses mentioned as concubine.

The first instance of infidelity is present from the start of the story. “But when he entered the palace, he found his wife lying in the arms of one of the kitchen boys.” King Shahrazad is introduced in the preceding line as being a caring husband. He was on his way to bid his wife goodbye before embarking on a journey to visit his brother. And while being gone for 10 days of preparation he found himself being cheated on. This event speaks to the previously mentioned synonym, two-faced. The King assumed that his wife was loving and dedicated however she had been involved in extramarital relations. It is also explicitly stated that he cannot trust his wife moving forward stating, “Women cannot be trusted.” Furthermore, the King also states that he has been betrayed and his wife has inflicted pain into him. The King reacts to his findings by murdering both his wife and her lover. The wife’s deceitful nature ended up resulting in her death. This act of committing murder did greatly affect the king. The literature describes him as appearing pale and sickly. Murder in today’s western society is viewed as being a heinous offense, although the story makes it sound just and appropriate.

After all of the misfortunate that had taken place in Shahrazad’s life, his brother was soon to be the recipient of equal dismay. “Mas’ud topped the lady, while the ten slaves topped the ten girls and they carried on until noon.” This quote describes the activities of Shahryar’s wife. Upon exiting the palace to embark on a hunt, Shahryar’s wife committed adultery wife a slave. Again, adultery was not something that was socially acceptable nor was it something that ether brother had condoned. The fact that the wife plotted and arranged for this activity to take place upon her husband departure speaks to her cunningly deceitful nature. I do however want to clarify my point on adultery, as it was condoned within the realm of concubines. Culturally men were able to partake in affairs with other women. The adulterous behavior was explained to Shahryar and in disbelief he schemed to create a plan to catch his wife in the act. The palaces soldiers were sent out of the palace creating the perception that both men were departing for another hunt. And in this event, the wife commits the same offense, carefully waiting for her husband’s leave. Her behavior embodied deceit as she had waited carefully to partake in her affairs. She slept with the slave yet again.

To solidify the men’s portrayal of being committed husbands, no mention of extramarital affairs was committed by the men. When finding out of their wives behaviors, both were enraged and felt betrayed. Although concubines were discussed no mention of their sleeping with them was stated. The reader is forced to believe that both men are the recipients of female deceit. The men also continued to wear wedding bands even after they had found out about their wives’ behaviors.

Another example of female deceit took place when the brothers encountered a demon and his “female possession”. “You must come down, and if you don’t, I shall wake the demon and have him kill you.” Here, this statement reveals the questionable motives and behavioral patterns of the woman in which the demon holds captive. She uses the demon’s ability to kill as leverage to satisfy her wants and needs. This same particular woman was described as being noble and in some senses pure as she was taken on the night of her wedding. However, her two-faced nature represents a different woman. This instance also happens to be one in which a woman is sexually driven and motivated. All of the disputes and tensions that take place in the literature happen around sexual misconduct. “Since you two have slept with me, give me your rings, so that I may add them to the rest, and make a full hundred”. This quote enforces the fact that the woman is represented as being promiscuous while also being malicious. Upon their departure from the woman and her threats the men also proclaim, “Great is women’s cunning”.

The three examples which I have presented to you all show women who were motivated by sexual relations but also used deceit as the vehicle to accomplish their acts. This behavior would fall within the category of negative implications. The acts that each woman conducted had negative implications if not towards themselves then the people who they directly affected. The last example of female deceit takes place at the tail end of the story. The vizier’s daughter volunteers to sleep with the King and accepts the repercussions of her decision. Due to the cunning nature of women in the literature the King and his brother both vow to put an end to the destructive behavior of women. So, each night a woman is to be killed only after sleeping with one of the brothers. The viziers’ daughter chose to spend time with the king with intentions of not only surviving but also stopping him from his actions. This carefully thought out plan certainly related to deceitful behavior although it has positive implications. Her ambitions to tell a story, if all goes well, will stop the brother from further killing women. The vizier’s intentions were not to just sleep with the brother but also to derail him from committing future murders.

Throughout the text, females are displayed as being deceitful and dispensable. Men are shown to be in positions of power as women tend to stay home while their male counterparts enjoy traveling. However, the underlying trend of cunning behavior holds constant from start to finish. The particular portrayal of women seen in the literature speaks to how the female gender was viewed during the time of authorship. Although much more may be said about gender roles and implicit meaning through the story it is safe to say that deceit was an underlying characteristic amongst the male counterpart.