How Men Characters Treat Women in the Arabian Nights

Abstract

This study which subjected eleven women characters revealed the descriptions of women. On The Arabian Nights they are described as: intelligent, prim and proper, selfless, graceful, beautiful, wily, lustful and skillful. Almost all characters are pictured as beautiful women. The roles of women in the tales is the essential part of the story. The women characters from the story picture diverse personalities of women. In this Islamic tales women variate from an erudite story teller, a self-sacrificing woman, a loyal slave-girl, a woman separated from her lover, a proud Princess, a cunning woman, a beautiful woman from the sea turned leader, a powerful lustful woman and women skilled in using weapons. The men in The Arabian Nights treat women as someone whom they; respected, protected, admired, treated as a source of comfort, treated with cruelty, taken for granted, loved, admired, trivialized, cared for, treated contemptuously, longed for, regarded highly, greatly admired, loved and hated, deceived, betrayed, desired, loved with sincerity, regarded with understanding, trusted, treated with kindness, disappointed, loved exceedingly, loved, welcomed, respected, treated with concern, abhorred, mistrusted, respected, appreciated, feel guilty, treated with amazement, hated, feared, are jealous of, flattered, regard as commodity, challenged, treated with humility and recognized as superior to men. To sum it up, most men characters treat women characters with kindness and respect. They recognized the superiority of women and admits their inferiority with humility.