Sometimes being a warrior doesn't mean you have to wield a sword.
The key character in Arabian Nights is Shahrazad. It was through her courage and wit that lives of women in the kingdom were saved and a King’s trust was restored. Not every hero in mythology or folklore has to be a swashbuckling warrior. Sometimes it takes someone with a little more guts on the inside to be able to save the day.
In the world of Shahrazad there was a great injustice going on. Women were being killed for the crimes of one woman, the King’s first wife who betrayed him. Shahrazad had an idea to save the women where she lived, the very same women that a King by theory is supposed to protect. She risked her life by taking their place and thus keeping the King occupied so he could not kill any other women. In time her plan worked.
The saying goes “The pen is mightier than the sword” our words last longer and cut deeper than any sword. The words that Shahrazad said had a lasting effect upon her husband. This is a prime example as to how words can resolve conflict over force. When force is used the risk is run for retaliation and an endless cycle of revenge. Words can allow the people to either reach a common ground or persuade the person towards your point of view.
An unsung hero of this story is the Vizier. No father wants to put his child in harms way. One of the characteristics of fatherhood is protection many times even putting themselves in the child’s place and having a stubborn driven daughter makes the job even harder. I know this to be true, since I am one of those daughters who have put her father through quite a bit of stress. When reading the discussion between Shahrazad and her father the Vizier I couldn’t help but think of some of the discussions I had with my father, who like the Vizier would use a fable to illustrate his point. The Vizier told his daughter about the donkey who stuck his nose in the business of the ox. The donkey got involved with the ox’s problems and in turn he had to do the ox’s job which was far too straining for the poor little donkey. However, as most fathers do, the Vizier relented to his daughter’s request. After the initial attempt to protect his child from danger the Vizier came around and saw that his little girl was no longer a little girl that needed protecting, she was an adult with the freewill to make her own decisions. In her own time she made her father proud by not only accomplishing what she had set out to do but being a reflection of the man that had a hand in raising her.
