The Battle of the Sexes in Ancient India
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document in English
literature
case study
published 22/10/2007
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SummaryFor time immemorial, mankind has been locked in a vicious and never-ending struggle against an enemy that is cunning, resourceful, and not above hitting below the belt; in short the one enemy that is capable of presenting a formidable challenge on every conceivable field of battle: womankind. This “battle of the sexes” is nothing more than the daily interaction between men and women, and the conflict that must result due to the inherent differences of the two genders. While it is easy to identify the physical differences between men and women, the metaphysical differences are more difficult to distinguish and have often been the subject of many literary works. One such work, “The Thousand and One Nights,” discusses these differences between men and women, and identifies the resultant gender conflicts. According to the work, men are described as being virtuous and powerful, the rulers and kings of their households. In contrast, women are portrayed as weak willed and sinful, taking every opportunity to misbehave and rebel against their husbands. As a result, the men must exert their dominance over the women, so as to ensure a happy marriage and a successful resolution to the “battle of the sexes.”
Table of Contents
- 'The Thousand and One Nights,' is the story of King Shahrayar, an Indian king who was wronged by his unfaithful wife, and as a result, has vowed to kill every subsequent wife after one night of marriage.
- The first group to be analyzed, the masculine nobility, is composed of King Shahrayar and his brother King Shahzaman.
- The second group, the masculine peasantry, is composed of the various merchants and old men of Shahrazd's stories.
- A further point of similarity between the two groups of men is their sincere piety:
- The women of the second group, the peasantry, are similarly unfaithful and deceitful, but as they are peasants, they are depicted as being considerably worse than their noble counterparts
- Thus, according to 'The Thousand and One Nights,' women will forever be conniving and deceitful, intent on bringing evil and harm.
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