gabrielpinheiro

I have always enjoyed folklore, so for a long time I have been wanting to read the Arabian Nights, one of the most famous collections of folklore. In addition to the famous fairy tales such as Aladdin, Ali Baba, and Sinbad, it also contains parables, legends, and other folkloric narratives, each offering much insight into the culture of the Medieval Arabic, Persian, and Indian societies from which the stories originated. It was easy to see, even through the modern English translation that these stories were originally oral tales, particularly in their prominent usage of framing stories within stories, present throughout in the form of Scheherazade's "1001" nights of storytelling, which binds the collection together. I felt that the framing of the narrative made an interesting setting for stories, but as some of them go on for hundreds of pages, it can be easy to lose track of the tales. Also, "unexpurgated" medieval literature as it is, I had to admit I was still surprised at the amount of sexism and racism the stories contained, especially in regards to the roles of women. However, stories often differed in their particular takes on many themes, including that of female power, perhaps again showing that these stories came from different times and places, written down any where between the 9th and 14th centuries before being combined as a single text. In all, these stories provide a very interesting view into the religion, beliefs, and society of the writers, and I'm glad that I read it.

2023-07-29 00:30