Reading Notes: Arabian Nights, Part B

 The second section of the Arabian Nights Unit focuses specifically on the story of "Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp", I've chosen to focus my reading notes on "Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp 2."

This story begins with Aladdin reaping some of the benefits of the genies. He tells his mother about the ring and the lamp that can summon the genies and he asks for food. The food comes on silver plates and he sells the silver plates for money. He goes on like this for a while, living well with his mother. 

It is to be noted that his mother requested he sells the items upon finding out about the genies. 

He goes on but his content nature is stunted by the Sultan's daughter, who walks veiled. He fell in love with her at first sight. He wished to marry her, but the Sultan had betrothed her to the vizir's son. The Sultan had accepted this proposal on behalf of Aladdin on the condition that he bring her a better gift than the vizir in three months' time, but he could not see her during those months. 

At the end of the three months, Aladdin finds out through the celebration of the town that the Sultan's daughter and the vizir are to be married that night, the Sultan betrayed them both. He goes to summon his lamp genie then and asks him to bring him the bride and bridegroom. The genie obeys, transporting the bed containing the Sultan's daughter and vizir's son. He commands the genie to put the son out in the cold, returning him at daybreak and stays with the princess for the night, who is frightened for she never knew of Aladdin's interest, and suffers the most miserable night of her life while Aladdin sleeps next to her soundly. At daybreak, the genie returned the bed with the bride and shivering bridegroom back to the palace. 

I like this story because of the content nature being broken by wanting more, the naive blind trust on the part of Aladdin, and the idealization of the princess. I think all of these elements could be played with in the retelling. 

("Aladdin and the Princess" Source: Wikimedia)

Bibliography:

The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1898).