An idea put forth in The Arabian Nights translated by Hussain Haddawy is that women should be sexually repressed. The stories told in the book convey that it is important that women be repressed, especially when it comes to their sexuality. There are multiple instances where women attempt to break free from these ‘bindings’ and result in punishment or death. It is also important to note that during these occurrences, the men in their lives react negatively and in a way that doesn’t necessarily equate the action. These stories directly contribute in the modern ‘west’s’ idea that women in ‘The Orient’ are repressed and have no rights.
When The Arabian Nights was originally published, Europe’s cultural norms dictated that women be sexually repressed. Girls were expected to be virgins upon their marriage while men were allowed to play into the double standards of patronage of whores before marriage and during. It’s interesting that while both societies have moved on from the restrictions of the virginal wife who is loyal to her husband, the ‘west’ still believes that this antiquated thought process applies in ‘the Orient’ and uses it as a reason to mark it as barbaric and stuck in the past find synonym. Ironic, because the Europeans who said this were doing so while they cheated on their wives.
The Arabian Nights begins with “The Story of King Shahrayar and Shahrazad”, in which there are two brother kings, Shahrayar and Shahzaman. The younger brother, Shahzaman, finds his wife cheating on him with a kitchen boy, kills both of them and travels to his brother’s kingdom. Then, while Shahrayar is out on a hunting trip, Shahzaman sees his brother’s wife and concubines having sexual relations with black slaves and tells his brother. The king is enraged by this and says, “Take that wife of mine and put her to death.” (14) He then “… grabbed his sword, brandished it, and, entering the palace chambers, killed every one of his slave-girls and replaced them with others.” (14) In this situation, the king is playing heavily into the double standards of him having concubines, who are to accompany his wife, but he then condemns his wife for cheating on him.
Don’t confuse this for supporting infidelity, I’m just saying, don’t cheat and then get mad when you get cheated on.
After Shahrayar and Shahzaman see Shahrayar’s wife and concubines cheating on him, they go on a short journey and encounter a demon who rises from the sea. “The demon sat down and placed the glass chest on the ground. He took out four keys and, opening the locks of the chest, pulled out a full grown woman.”(12) In this situation, the writers of the Nights are taking the message of sexually repressing women quiet literally. The demon’s wife is locked in a box, to keep her from cheating on him, which she does anyway.
