Scheherazade

Thesis

As children, we learn of Scheherazade and her one thousand and one nights of storytelling but we aren't often told her stories must be so captivating and so perfectly planned that the king is left at dawn, waiting impatiently for the next part of the story to be told. If her story ends too soon or doesn't command all the king's attention, Scheherazade will die. Of course, the king was as enchanted by the voyages of Sinbad, Ali Baba, and Aladdin as kids are today but so much of what delighted the king were the stories of love and lust also interwoven into these tales of magic and adventure.

The tale of Scheherazade and the one thousand and one stories she told have been shared for so long no one knows when they were first spoken. The collection of stories themselves are based on stories, myths, and fables from ancient Persia, Arabia, Egypt, India, and Mesopotamia. They contain influences from ancient Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism. While they've fascinated young and old for more than one thousand and one years, scholars continue to debate their origins.

What we do know is that the Persian king, King Shahryar, was betrayed by his wife. He sought consolation with his brother, Shah Zaman, only to learn Shah Zaman was also married to an unfaithful woman. The king's grief turned so bitter he swore to marry a different virgin every night, only to have her killed the next morning. He was convinced his bride's early death was the only way to keep a woman faithful.

Once the king had taken three thousand wives, the lovely Scheherazade persuaded her father to let her become the king's next bride. Scheherazade's father, a trusted advisor to the king who had the unfortunate job of beheading each of the king's new brides, knew his daughter's marriage to the king would mean certain death for her but she convinced him she had a plan that would stop the king's killing of all the virgins of the land. She needed the help of Dunyazad, her sister, to do so and with tremendous reluctance, their father agreed to Scheherazade's plan.

On Scheherazade's wedding night, Dunyazad, according to plan, begged the king to allow Scheherazade to finish telling her the bedtime story she'd started before her marriage to the king. Dunyazad assured the king she understood it would be the last night of Scheherazade's life and the last opportunity she'd have to hear the rest of the story. The king, who never slept anyway, agreed.

Through the night, Scheherazade spun such a spellbinding story that the king was mesmerized. In what seemed like only moments, dawn was breaking and Scheherazade's story was reaching its most exciting part. The king was so riveted by the story he postponed Scheherazade's death for one more night, so she could finish telling him the story before being put to death on the second morning of their marriage.

Each night, for one thousand and one nights, Scheherazade told the king the most bewitching, delightful stories ...