Embedded Files
Shahriyar unveiling Shahrazad — 1001 Nights 1839, Engraved by Thompson.
Origination
Origination
Story dates back to the ninth century
First known account published by Nabia Abbott was called “Alf Layla” (218 Grotzfeld)
Transcribed before the second half of the fifteenth century
A lot of that translation is lost
Last known account is called The Thousand and One Nights
Initial confusion in number of stories due to mistranslation of the Persian edition of the story
Scheherazade, Arthur Streeton (1895)
Authorship
Authorship
What does authorship mean?
Varying opinions on what authorship means relating to the translation of fairytales
Some scholars are hesitant to name translators as authors
Others hail translators' creative liberties above the original
"Galland is an author to the extent that he is a creative translator whose genius consisted precisely in bringing together the sophisticated temperament of the "oriental tale" and the expressive power of classical French prose, with its urbanity, discrete humor, and measured rhythms" (Ibrahim Muwahi 328)
People like Schwab hailed translators like Galland as authors, almost uplifting this French translation above the original storytelling
“He was a master of French prose” (Muwahi 327)
“The majestic rhythm of its coordinated clauses is monumental, whereas the original is flat and sounds like a report.” (Muwahi 327)
Bias towards Eurocentric storytelling of the Arabian Nights
Movie Poster for The Thief of Damascus
Orientalism
Orientalism
Galland's success coincided with the infatuation of the fairytale and figures like Charles Perrault
The fascination with Arabian Nights brought this fetishization of Mena culture that survived the Enlightenment, Romantic, and Victorian era
This also of course coincided with the colonization of some of the territories they founded over
England: (Palestine, Iraq, India, Egypt, Kuwait, Qatar) , France: (Lebanon, Syria, Morocco, Tunisia, Italy (Libya)
Orientialism allowed for a tool to otherize or in their eyes “understand” the people of the Mena region
Stated that there was something different and exotic about the people in these territories that justified their colonization
“Between 1838-1840, Edward Lane produced a new translation of Nights based on an Egyptian compendium (the “Bulaq”, or Cairo manuscript). This gained even more popularity when the UK invaded Egypt in 1882. The text (rendered as Arabian Nights in English since the early 18th century) served then as a quasi-guidebook to Egyptian customs and society.” (Abdessamad)
In modern times, films continue to further Orientalism
Disney’s Aladdin had to change the lyrics of “Arabian Nights” song
Oh, I come from a land
From a faraway place
Where the caravan camels roam.
Where they cut off your ear
If they don’t like your face
It’s barbaric, but hey, it’s home.
In the early 20th century, film posters relied on stereotypes and white supremacy
Villains in movies like The Thief of Damascus (1952, USA) and It Happened in Aden (France, 1956) had dark skin and turbans, terrorized pale-skinned women
Works Cited
Works Cited
Abdessamad, Farah. “Orientalism, Exoticism, Deception: The Story of the Arabian Nights.” Middle East Eye, www.middleeasteye.net/discover/arabian-nights-orientalism-exoticism-deception-story. Accessed 12 Feb. 2025.
Grotzfeld, Heinz. “Creativity, random selection, and Pia Fraus : Observations on compilation and transmission of the Arabian Nights.” Marvels & Tales, vol. 18, no. 2, 2004, pp. 218–228, https://doi.org/10.1353/mat.2004.0032.
Muhawi, Ibrahim. “The arabian nights and the question of authorship.” Journal of Arabic Literature, vol. 36, no. 3, 2005, pp. 323–337, https://doi.org/10.1163/157006405774909899.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse