Extravagant wealth, obsessive passion, faith, sacrifice, and genuine love are all prominent themes in “The Story of Jullanar of the Sea” from The Thousand and One Nights. The time period and setting of the story takes place in the lands of ancient Persia. King Shah-Zeman is current ruler of Khurasan, and indulges in great wealth living in his successful dwelling with his beautiful concubines. Be that as it may, the King is considerably troubled because none of his concubines has given him any children. He is particularly yearning for a male child who can inherit the throne that was passed on from his father, grandfather, and so forth. One life changing day, a merchant brought a slave-girl to the presence of the King. Her unique beauty has
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The King has finally humbled himself in the eyes of Jullanar, representing another act of sacrifice. All of these current and future renouncements will eventually only prove to be of benefit for the King. Another example of how the historical culture influences the story is the act of totally surrendering oneself to a higher power representing the tremendous priority religion is placed on. Jullanar then begins to tell her adventure of running away from her homeland (the sea), being captured as a slave, to her encounter with the King. As the King hears her story, is overwhelmed with joy because her adventurous undertaking has led to their meeting. King Shah-Zeman proclaims, “By Allah, O my mistress, and light of my eyes, I cannot endure thy separation for one hour; and if thou quit me, I shall die instantly.” His feelings toward Jullanar at this point is more of an obsession than anything else including love. Before, he was consumed by passion to please Jullanar through his gifts to get her to talk and now he cannot bear the thought of leaving her …show more content…
The child that the King had begged God for the most out of all his wishes. The city of Khurasan celebrates and rejoices for a period of 7 days with elaborate decorations. The birth of the child results in another visitation from Jullanar’s family, whose granted permission by the King to name the son who is then called, Bedr Basim. This was another act of high-mindedness by the King when he allowed Jullanar’s family participation in naming their child. Respectively, Jullanar’s brother takes his nephew into the depths of the sea granting the baby supernatural powers that prevent him from suffocating or drowning. Bedr Basim can now walk in the sea like his maternal family as he easily does on land. Basim’s uncle presents more gifts to him in the form of jewels, gems, emeralds, etc. which is stated by the King as being more valuable than the city itself. Joy is simply an understatement to describe the King’s gratefulness to his wife’s brother for all that he is given. Yet, Jullanar’s brother mentions that no physical gift can ever repay the King for treating his sister so kindly and he is quoted saying, “ O King of the age, a thousand years, regarding nothing else, we could not requite thee, and our doing so would be but a small thing in comparison with thy desert.” For the many years to come, the King continues to host
The King has finally humbled himself in the eyes of Jullanar, representing another act of sacrifice. All of these current and future renouncements will eventually only prove to be of benefit for the King. Another example of how the historical culture influences the story is the act of totally surrendering oneself to a higher power representing the tremendous priority religion is placed on. Jullanar then begins to tell her adventure of running away from her homeland (the sea), being captured as a slave, to her encounter with the King. As the King hears her story, is overwhelmed with joy because her adventurous undertaking has led to their meeting. King Shah-Zeman proclaims, “By Allah, O my mistress, and light of my eyes, I cannot endure thy separation for one hour; and if thou quit me, I shall die instantly.” His feelings toward Jullanar at this point is more of an obsession than anything else including love. Before, he was consumed by passion to please Jullanar through his gifts to get her to talk and now he cannot bear the thought of leaving her …show more content…
The child that the King had begged God for the most out of all his wishes. The city of Khurasan celebrates and rejoices for a period of 7 days with elaborate decorations. The birth of the child results in another visitation from Jullanar’s family, whose granted permission by the King to name the son who is then called, Bedr Basim. This was another act of high-mindedness by the King when he allowed Jullanar’s family participation in naming their child. Respectively, Jullanar’s brother takes his nephew into the depths of the sea granting the baby supernatural powers that prevent him from suffocating or drowning. Bedr Basim can now walk in the sea like his maternal family as he easily does on land. Basim’s uncle presents more gifts to him in the form of jewels, gems, emeralds, etc. which is stated by the King as being more valuable than the city itself. Joy is simply an understatement to describe the King’s gratefulness to his wife’s brother for all that he is given. Yet, Jullanar’s brother mentions that no physical gift can ever repay the King for treating his sister so kindly and he is quoted saying, “ O King of the age, a thousand years, regarding nothing else, we could not requite thee, and our doing so would be but a small thing in comparison with thy desert.” For the many years to come, the King continues to host