Multiple Authors in Arabian Nights?
Nights 139-156
This is the longest section of Arabian Nights in my schedule. It starts by wrapping up the big story that we’ve been reading for just over 300 pages now. The wrap-up is very disjointed, even briefly introducing some new characters (including a “Fatia,” again making me think of the famous epic of “Fatima”). It is so different from the earlier parts that it feels like the story had not been finished and someone else wrote this ending. The choice of words seems different. For example, the author here compares one character to a ghul (cannibalistic monster) and another character’s horse to ‘Antar’s Abjar (Night 142, p. 588). Those kinds of references are new to this story.
The biggest inconsistency is the behavior of the last story’s heroine, Nuzhat. Here, she approves one of her servant’s plans to murder the prince Kana-ma-Kana. (night 142, p. 593). This is wildly out of character for her and the morality of the Nights. Her behavior is unexplained. Instead, the story rushes through the failed attempt on the prince’s life, which includes an out-of-place but admittedly funny story about a poor man’s erection (night 143, p. 596).
The story then hand waves about events that are “too long to describe” (p. 597) in order to put all the main characters in the same place so we can tie up some loose ends. Finally, the villains get their comeuppance (even Ghadban returns to be executed!). Most importantly, the witch is crucified (night 145, p. 613) which convinces all the Christians to convert to Islam.
It is a sloppy, rushed ending. But I guess it’s better than leaving it all incomplete. If nothing else, it gets strong approval from the frame story. Shahrazad’s sister notices that, “In all this time, it is only tonight that I have seen the king [Shahriyar] looking happy.”
Then we get a palette cleanser: short stories about animals. They resemble Aesop’s Fables or the Panchatantra. As far as that genre goes, they are pretty good! Maybe the most interesting thing about them is King Shahriyar’s reaction. He tells Shahrazad, “you have made me regret the excesses to which I went in killing women and girls. Do you have any more stories about birds?” (p. 624, night 148)
Then we start a new story that won’t wrap up until next week: a forbidden love story between a young Persian man and one of caliph Harun’s concubines. So far, it’s fine, but nothing striking about it over the rest of the stories.