Chapter 8 The King's Perversity

Chapter 8 The King's Perversity


Now much has been spoken over time regarding the perversity of King Shahryar, in particular his practice of marrying a virgin, taking her maidenhead and handing her over to the executioner the following morning.

It is written that Schehrazad and her sister Dunazad escaped that fate by captivating the king's interest with fabulous fables. And she told these fables in a manner that when dawn came the tales were cut short at a point of culminating interest or high excitement. Wishing to hear the rest of the tale the king granted an extension to the usual policy, that Schehrazad might continue the story the following night. Now Schehrazad had gone willingly to the king's bed demanding that her father give her in marriage to the sultan. The reason she chose to do this was a selfless and noble desire that..." if I should live, I'd become the ransom for virgin daughters of Moslems and rescue them from his hands..."

For a time this was the case but after several months the king resumed his practice and began alternating his nights between his appetite for innocents and listening to the tales. On the one hand this was disappointing to Schehrazad; but on the other her intervention had caused a significant reduction in episodes. While this was progress our heroine was not satisfied. One day Dunazad said to her sister,

"It is a marvelous thing you have done in diverting the king from the slaughter of his wives."

Scheherazad answered, "Last night the King took another to his private chamber and this morning she was taken to the block like all the rest."

"Do not take it personally," Dunazad replied, "Keep in mind, that at great risk to yourself, you have diverted his attention with your fabulous story telling and have spared many maids a similar fate."

"I do take it personally," she answered, " Allah has given me in ransom for their innocence and commissioned me to put a stop to this madness."

"If you ask me you have done more than enough already. It is a cruel and imperfect world. Some improvement is better than no improvement at all.."

"Are you satisfied with that?"

"Don't risk the vineyard, Sister, reaching for a grape."

"There must be something more that we can do."

"Aren't we at risk enough already?"

"You know...., I think I might just have an idea."

"Oh my gad, tell me...what it is."

"We could continue on our present course..."

"Yes..."

"Telling the fables like we do with the king."

"Go on."

"Except now we could educate him by telling stories that had a moral..."

"I'm listening."

"And if the moral, illuminated the error of his ways, he would see that what he is doing is wrong and desist from his perverse behavior."

"Oh please!"

"You don't like the idea?"

"It won't work."

"Why not?"

"Because there are only two types of fables the king likes. Manly ones and those involving sex. Anything else is likely to annoy him... and when the dawn comes and he yawns in boredom... what do you suppose happens to us?"

Ignoring her answer, Scheherazad continued, "Granted we have had some success but I have not yet succeeded in what I set out to do. We must find a way to bring the Sultan to his senses without incurring his boredom or wrath."

"And how do you propose to do that?"

"Well it must be done subtly, in a manner that the King comes to see his errant behavior as a product of his own thinking."

"Can you be more specific?"

"We will continue as we have but occasionally intersperse tales that have a deeper meaning that is suited to our purpose. For these, we will plead a lack of understanding and ask him to explain the meaning. Being indirect, I will rekindle his sense of decency, and achieve the goal I have set for us."

Now this is a good time to elaborate further the matter regarding the King's perversity towards women, specifically the treatment of his wives. Shahryar was a wise ruler and this point has never been contended. He said many wise things. For example the proverb "Love is like a fickle maid and fear a firm taskmaster." Or in another form, "Men love as they choose and fear as they must." Or in another, "Fear is like a meal's main course and love, the dessert." or yet another, "To be loved is a good thing but to be feared is better." These sayings, that have come down to us through the ages, have a common theme and that is this. Sultans of the time cultivated a reputation for harshness and their subjects demanded a leader who was severe and unchanging. Thus King Shahryar was by no means troubled by all the talk about his wives. On the contrary, it served his purpose, and he was proud of it. For it caused his subjects to tremble before him, believing that anyone who could so treat their wives would not hesitate in punishing those of lower station. However, there is a great irony to all of this, and that is that his reputation....was totally undeserved.

The truth is that he was never cruel in the treatment of his wives, even when they might have deserved it. What happened regarding them, was from the beginning a closely guarded secret, a deception known by only by two in the entire kingdom. One was King Shahryar and the other, Omar, his chief executioner. Here is how the deceit worked.

When the dawn came the vizier would come to the King's private chamber and lead the young girl into the courtyard. There they would be joined by the headsman and the three would proceed to the dungeon. In the dungeon was a small chamber whose only objects were the block of a tree trunk, an axe, a bucket of slop and a canvas shroud laying in the corner. At the doorway the executioner took the girl and they went alone inside, while the guard slammed and locked the door behind them. The door had a small window with bars and the entrance opened to a short oblique corridor so that those outside could hear but not see what was taking place.

Now in most cases the young maiden would be quite hysterical by this time and for those listening outside it was a heart wrenching experience. Once inside however, the headsman would motion the girl to silence and whisper,

"If you wish to keep your head, heed my instructions. Go now and sit in the corner and continue to plead for your life. As I rattle the chains let the tempo of your hysteria become as loud and pitiful as you can make it. When the time is right I will raise my axe and you let out a blood curling scream as I bring it down onto the block. As soon as this is done go over to the bloody shroud and crawl inside. I will sew the top closed and from that moment until I tell you it is safe, you are to make yourself limp and remain absolutely silent."

In the bucket was the head and entrails of a sheep, obtained earlier from the kitchen. The executioner would sew the shroud shut, take the head and put it in a leather satchel and slop the entrails onto the axe blade. He would then throw the shroud over his shoulder, holding it with one hand and with the other, take the satchel and depart. In the courtyard he would place both into a cart and depart for the secret place where the maidens were alleged to be buried. Several miles from the city, when he was sure no one was following, he would cut the shroud open and allow the maiden to sit next to him on the seat. At nightfall they would arrive at the summer palace and slip in through a back gate. Once inside the headsman would inform the Keeper , "This is princess........., goddaughter of the king. Take her and treat her with an honor appropriate to her station. He would then hand over a scroll sealed with the king's signet that provided a written certification of the maiden's status.

Now if you are wondering what then happened to these girls you will be amazed at the brilliance of the King's mind. The young beautiful girls were married off to young men from across the realm who had provided extraordinary service and were to be appointed "Stewards of the King." This was the highest honor a young man could obtain, for along with a golden medallion the steward, through marriage, became a member of the royal household. Through the judicious use of his goddaughters, the king was able to put together a band of loyal followers of a size and quality never before imagined.