“No one has any idea who made her up, so it’s easy to think she made herself up. But there she is, one of the immortal characters of literature, and how can you not fall in love with somebody who civilizes savage people by telling them stories?” – Salman Rushdie
I often elevate my opinion of a personal bookshelf whenever I find a copy or edition of Arabian Nights. Like many, I loved these stories as a kid and have often revisited them as an adult. Mr. Rushdie’s professed love for these tales are the main reason I try to read one of his novels once a year. Whenever contemporary authors reference these stories, I develop a special glee and renewed interest in reading their work. In an alternate reality, I like to think I studied Literature in addition to Studio Art in College and based my thesis on these tales, or more specifically, on Scheherazade.
Of course, Mr. Rushdie’s “civilizes savage people” words threw me for a moment. In our current atmosphere the thought of civilizing savage people sounds incredibly racist. Suggesting that there are entire peoples that need to be reformed has roots in slavery and in the false idea that some races are better than others. However, in this particular statement, Rushdie is pointing the savage finger at the Persian Sassanid King of the tales. After discovering that his first wife had betrayed him, he makes it a point to punish all women by marrying a different virgin every night and then having her executed the following morning. Seriously messed up. And the worst part is he gets his kingdom to do this for three years. That means a whole lot of people were complicit in this awful terror. I hate to think it but the King’s misogynist murder streak in this day and age might even get him an insanity plea. You know what they say, there is no negotiating with crazy. And yet, we have our mysterious heroine of all heroines.
The fact that Shahrazad must hold the attention of her despotic husband by telling stories sounds a bit like casting a spell requiring the utmost of focus and skill. I am sure I love magic and fantasy because of her.
Her confidence and heart to willingly posit herself as the next victim to the ruler’s uxoricide nonsense, knowing that all she has to work with is her own wit, is the highest form of courage. She is at the heart of all stories I tell when the Strength card in Tarot is pulled from the deck.
Incidentally, for the morbidly minded out there, the 1,001st night of the COVID-19 Pandemic would potentially be September 26th, 2022 based on the official news confirming the first case in China on December 31st, 2019.