Reading Notes: Arabian Nights Part A

Ever since I first heard the tale of Scheherazade, I've been fascinated by it. Despite having chosen storytelling as my career, I don't know if I could tell such an interesting story that it would keep me alive, especially not for 1,000 nights. I'd love to do something with her tale, but I'm not sure what yet. It'd be interesting to switch it up to where the king hears of Scheherazade's amazing storytelling or singing abilities so he demands her presence in the castle instead of Scheherazade nobly offering herself up to stop the kingdom's suffering.

Each tale she spins is so interesting and creative. I hated the wife who became a deer for her rude selfishness and loved the fairy wife who saved the man. When I heard the concept, I never would have figured that all of the stories would roll into each other, rather than each be separate entities.

I have always found Biblical stories about leprosy interesting so the tale of the Greek king was very interesting to me, however, as I read, I started to get lost in all of the layers. I was really intrigued when I started reading the parrot story but horrified when the husband killed the bird. I was so excited to get out of one of the stories within a stories only to realize we were jumping right back into another. The vizir literally could have just said "he strangled him."

As much as I love the storytelling, I am very saddened by all of these deaths. I wish the characters in these stories would stop killing innocent people.

Out of the Part A reading, my favorite of the stories was the King of Black Isles. I like the concept of this transformed city and castle.

It reminds me a small bit of Beauty and the Beast. I'd love to do a story with a prince/king that is stuck under a spell and a warrior who comes to save him.

Bibliography: "Arabian Nights" by Andrew Lang.

Image Information: "The Old Ruined Castle" by Shadowgate. No changes made.