Women and Power in The Thousand and One Nights Anonymous College

The Thousand and One Nights is a collection of stories originally told from an oral tradition that was later written down and spread from its place of origin, the Middle East, throughout the western countries. It is told through a frame-tale format, which allows for many stories to fit within the overarching plot-line. This brings in many characters, narrators, and perspectives into the work which can make it difficult to find one, single viewpoint. Women, in particular, have conflicting descriptors which can lead to multiple interpretations of the power they have within this region of the world. Thus, it is only natural to question how some women obtain the power they exhibit within these tales while it seems as though they should have no power at all. While women in The Thousand and One Nights may have moments of power it can only be found through manipulation, and even so, this power is limited and thus unable to control their own fates.

Women, when they attempt to take control, through obvious means, are met with beatings or death. The whole tale begins when King Shahrayar walks in on his wife and a kitchen boy (1177). She had believed that her husband had already left on his visit to his brother, and leaving her alone in...