Arabian Nights is a book of oriental stories with popular themes. It is a compilation of ancient tales from the Near East that have been subject to many versions, and that have had their own influence in the West.
The book comes from the Eastern medieval tradition and its stories contain valuable and curious teachings. One of its most outstanding characteristics is the way in which they are narrated.: use the framed story. The best-known stories of him are: "Aladdin and the wonderful lamp", "Ali Baba and the forty thieves" and "Sinbad the Sailor".
The book of the thousand and one nights
Arabian Nights collects various stories whose number has increased over the centuries. They started with a handful and now there are more than a thousand. That is to say, They wanted to give a symbolic value to these stories and thus make them attractive due to their diverse content. that they could offer. Little by little more stories were added.
They arose in Persia during the Middle Ages. It is estimated that the first stories date from the XNUMXth century and various authors whose signature is unknown collaborated on them.. In fact, although they were mostly written in Farsi and Arabic, and are part of universal literature, their conception is that of the short story, closely linked to orality. That is why some stories are subject to change or a single text is not maintained for each of them. The most important translators responsible for the Spanish versions are Juan Vernet and Rafael C. Asséns.
These stories can have a gruesome, gruesome, and often unpleasant nature. It should be mentioned that also contain an exemplary message regarding a situation or extols a certain value or warns about a vice. Although on many occasions the solution or the final result are neither the most convenient nor the most lawful.
Its disparity and versatility have given rise to different versions and adaptations., in which they have participated from the company of Disney (Aladdin, 1992) to authors such as Pier Paolo Pasolini (Arabian Nights.
The framed story and Scheherazade and Shahriar
The narrative style is very curious. It also serves as a pretext for the development and coupling of the stories. It is a main fictitious fact or narration, which serves as a framework and which collects the rest of the stories.. We are talking about a framed story that consists of a main story in which the others are linked.
This main story is that of Scheherazade and Sultan Shahriar. He did not trust any woman after having suffered the betrayal of her wife, so as punishment or a way to release her discomfort, he spent every night with a maiden whom he ordered to kill every day. following. Scheherazade kept him from killing her by promising captivating stories. She told him every night assuring him that the next one would be even better than the previous one.. That was how Scheherazade got the sultan to fall in love with her and give up her idea of killing her. Indeed, the stories that she tells him are the ones that make up the book of Arabian Nights.
The most popular stories
Aladdin and the wonderful lamp
The original story must be found in China, however, we all know the story embedded in an Arabic context. It is worth noting, therefore, the effort to introduce Arab fantasy in a good part of the stories in the book. Besides, the story of Aladdin, like that of "Sinbad the Sailor", seems to have been added on purpose, although it does not have a direct relationship with the rest of the stories that make up Arabian Nights. In the case of Aladdin, it was the orientalist Antoine Galland who added it to the rest. He was the first Western translator of the book.
"Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp" tells the story of a sorcerer with evil intentions and a miserable rogue. One is older and tries to trick the younger one, known as Aladdin, into helping him get an object that he covets: a wonderful lamp whose interior houses a genie willing to fulfill the wishes of whoever invokes him. However, Aladdin manages to get away from the sorcerer and keeps the lamp. In this way he surrounds himself with wealth and marries a princess.
Ali baba and the forty thieves
Antoine Galland also seems to be behind the annexation of this story to Arabian Nights; however, there is no consensus on this. "Ali baba and the forty thieves" exposes how a man can be corrupted by the circumstances that he has had to live.
Ali Baba is an honest and humble woodcutter who makes a living selling the wood he collects with his work. On one occasion, while in the forest, he discovers the secret cave where forty thieves keep his treasures. Is about a magical cave capable of opening and closing at the command of the words "Open, Sesame" and "Close, Sesame", respectively. The thieves discover that someone knows their secret and is stealing part of their treasure, and they set out to find Ali Baba. However, he is saved by his maid, who kills the forty looters. Ali Baba thanks her for her loyalty by allowing him to marry her son.
Sinbad the Sailor
Recounts the voyages of Sinbad the Sailor across the Indian Ocean. The stories are divided into the seven sea voyages made by this fictitious character whose inspiration is found in the adventures experienced by the sailors of that ocean. Although the adventures are also reminiscent of some other works of universal literature, such as the ones Homer wrote in his Odisea. This tale was inserted with the rest of the stories later and highlights its extension, a proof that its existence might not be due to the book of the thousand and one nights in a strict sense.
Scheherazade and Shahriar
As said before, Scheherazade managed to delay and prevent her death thanks to the stories that she told Sultan Shahriar every night. She is the narrator Arabian Nights and, despite the fact that Shahriar's first intention was to behead her, Scheherazade managed to seduce him with her stories and legends.
Scheherazade had proposed to be the one to end the spiral of revenge that the sultan had entered after being cheated on by what was his first wife. And she managed not only to survive, but she earned the favor and love of the sultan. He had fallen in love with her after so many nights of expectations and exciting stories.. Together they had had several children and the sultan understood that he could not kill her. He had finished with her retaliation and Scheherazade had achieved her goal of tempering Shahriar.
Other stories from The Thousand and One Nights
- History of the torn apart woman, of the three apples and of the black man.
- The lame young man with the Baghdad barber.
- The black Sauab, the first Sudanese eunuch.
- Enchanting stories of animals and birds.
- Adventures of the poet Abu-Nowas.
- Prodigious history of the City of Bronze.
- Story of the beautiful sad young man.
- Story of the awake sleeper.
- Story of the lazy young man.
- Story of Kamar and expert Halima.
- Story of princess Nurennahar and the beautiful gennia.
- Princess Suleika.
- The magic book.
- The king's son with the gigantic turtle.
- History of the sea rose and the Chinese girl.