Reading Notes: Arabian Nights Part B

I was kind of disappointed with this half of the reading. I really wanted to know what happened to Scheherazade, but the story never went into it.

I found the original version much creepier than the beloved fairy tale. Aladdin waiting behind the doors to catch a glimpse of the princess was almost too much for me. I have never really been fascinated with his story, so I was more sad there wasn't an update on Scheherazade.

The one thing I was surprised at was how rude Aladdin was to the genie. I could not believe that he just kept demanding things without ever saying thank you or releasing the genie in the end, like in the Disney version.

I would consider telling a version of this tale where Aladdin is rude and keeps demanding things, so the genie tricks Aladdin into freeing him. The genie would then kill or imprison Aladdin in his place. While it is a fun idea, I usually don't write stories that are this dark, so I'm not sure I want to spend my words on this.

One of the other things I liked the concept of was the garden that Aladdin's mother pulled all of the fruit gems from. I thought that was really interesting and I would have loved to see it described in more detail. What kind of fruit were they? Did they magically become gems?

I think, however, that I am going to focus on Scheherazade this week because I find her much more redeemable as a character.

Bibliography: "Arabian Nights" by Andrew Lang.

Image Information: "Common Culinary Fruits" by Bill Ebbesen. No changes were made.