M&D--SCHEHERAZADE

[LARSSON at VAX1.Mankato.MSUS.EDU]

Sean notes:
"Scheherezade is the young woman in "1001 Nights" who tells the cuckolded king stories to
prevent her death.  The story within a story format of "1001 Nights" should be familiar t
o all on this list.  She eventually becomes his wife (oops, should have put a spoiler war
ning!)
 
The reference to palm leaves is: (1) to the mention of dog cooked in palm leaves, and (2)
 in popular culture, sultans and other middle eastern types were shown being fanned by pa
lm leaves.  The dog is like Scheherezade because as long as he talks (tells stories) he p
revents himself from dying, i.e. becoming a sailor's lunch (in a palm leaf)."


Nice connection.  And since John Barth has on more than one occasion presented
himself as a kind of male avatar of Scheherezade, and given the historickal
Resonances of THE SOT-WEED FACTOR, could there be further connections implied?

Don Larsson, Mankato State U (MN)