(Tale 23).
Moreover, because mother and daughter fulfill many family functions
together, they form a natural unit within the family. One of the most
important of these functions involves locating a bride for the son
(brother), as in Tale 21, and providing him with a critique
(bunuqduha) of the intended's deportment and character. If she is
from a different village and they have not seen her before, they
might even give her some simple tests, such as threading a needle (to
test eyesight) and cracking a nut with her teeth - as we see in an
exaggerated form in Tale 12. By and large, the tales accurately
reflect the mother/daughter relationship as it is in life.
It
would be difficult to conjecture the extent to which the mother/son
relationship as portrayed in the tales reflects the actual situation.
Certainly this relationship is depicted throughout the tales as
extremely complex. In Tale 2 a mother kills her daughter-in-law and
pretends to be her sons wife, and in Tale 4 a son sends his mother to
certain death because she wants to marry at an advanced age. In Tale
22 a son tears his mother to pieces, along with the children she had
borne to a giant. Obviously these things do not go on in real life;
the tales must therefore reflect the emotional complexity of the
relationship rather than its social content. Although there are
psychological and mythological explanations for this complexity - a
favorite theme in all literature - we will explore it in terms of the
parameters already established. Despite the closeness that should
characterize the relationship, the contradictory criteria for
authority do cause contention. A son, particularly the eldest son, is
second in command to his father and can therefore wield power based
on both his gender and his position in the family. The mother, in
contrast, commands respect and obedience by virtue of her age and her
position as mother. As long as the son is young and under her
protection, no problems arise. But as he approaches manhood and is
pulling away from the sphere of his mother to that of his father
(Tale 21), the potential for conflict increases. A son must start
asserting his authority early in order to establish himself as a man,
and a mother who impedes this process is bound to cause problems.
Furthermore, a son in some respects plays the role of husband to his
own mother, because he must guard her honor. Her sexuality, then,
especially if she acts on it as in the tales cited above, is a
certain source of conflict.
Other
aspects of motherhood are also significant in the tales, such as the
role of the stepmother (Tales 7, 9, 28) and the significance of the
process of adoption by a ghouleh, or feminine ghoul (Tales 10, 22);
these aspects will be discussed in the footnotes and afterwords to
the tales.
The
father/daughter relationship is extremely important in the structure
of the family, because it is the father (or more accurately, the
patriarch) who gives his daughter in marriage, thereby establishing a
relationship of nasab (in-laws) with another family. She remains a
member of her father's family for the rest of her life and does not
take her husband's name even after marriage. The father and his sons
thus remain responsible for the daughter throughout her life, whether
she remains single and lives under their roof or marries and moves
out. The tales (5, 7, 9, 12, 13, 14, 22, 28, 34, 44) present this
relationship as one of great complexity, which does not necessarily
reflect the way it is managed in life. Neither by virtue of her
gender, age, or position in the family is the daughter endowed with
any authority. Some of the tales (5, 12, 15, 22, 44) confirm the
image of a carefree daughter able to manipulate her father into
acceding to her wishes, even those that go against social convention,
as in Tale
12. In
Tale 14 the father interprets his relationship to his daughter as one
of ownership - he wants to give her away in marriage, but to himself.
Although this desire, like
Moreover, because mother and daughter fulfill many family functions
together, they form a natural unit within the family. One of the most
important of these functions involves locating a bride for the son
(brother), as in Tale 21, and providing him with a critique
(bunuqduha) of the intended's deportment and character. If she is
from a different village and they have not seen her before, they
might even give her some simple tests, such as threading a needle (to
test eyesight) and cracking a nut with her teeth - as we see in an
exaggerated form in Tale 12. By and large, the tales accurately
reflect the mother/daughter relationship as it is in life.
It
would be difficult to conjecture the extent to which the mother/son
relationship as portrayed in the tales reflects the actual situation.
Certainly this relationship is depicted throughout the tales as
extremely complex. In Tale 2 a mother kills her daughter-in-law and
pretends to be her sons wife, and in Tale 4 a son sends his mother to
certain death because she wants to marry at an advanced age. In Tale
22 a son tears his mother to pieces, along with the children she had
borne to a giant. Obviously these things do not go on in real life;
the tales must therefore reflect the emotional complexity of the
relationship rather than its social content. Although there are
psychological and mythological explanations for this complexity - a
favorite theme in all literature - we will explore it in terms of the
parameters already established. Despite the closeness that should
characterize the relationship, the contradictory criteria for
authority do cause contention. A son, particularly the eldest son, is
second in command to his father and can therefore wield power based
on both his gender and his position in the family. The mother, in
contrast, commands respect and obedience by virtue of her age and her
position as mother. As long as the son is young and under her
protection, no problems arise. But as he approaches manhood and is
pulling away from the sphere of his mother to that of his father
(Tale 21), the potential for conflict increases. A son must start
asserting his authority early in order to establish himself as a man,
and a mother who impedes this process is bound to cause problems.
Furthermore, a son in some respects plays the role of husband to his
own mother, because he must guard her honor. Her sexuality, then,
especially if she acts on it as in the tales cited above, is a
certain source of conflict.
Other
aspects of motherhood are also significant in the tales, such as the
role of the stepmother (Tales 7, 9, 28) and the significance of the
process of adoption by a ghouleh, or feminine ghoul (Tales 10, 22);
these aspects will be discussed in the footnotes and afterwords to
the tales.
The
father/daughter relationship is extremely important in the structure
of the family, because it is the father (or more accurately, the
patriarch) who gives his daughter in marriage, thereby establishing a
relationship of nasab (in-laws) with another family. She remains a
member of her father's family for the rest of her life and does not
take her husband's name even after marriage. The father and his sons
thus remain responsible for the daughter throughout her life, whether
she remains single and lives under their roof or marries and moves
out. The tales (5, 7, 9, 12, 13, 14, 22, 28, 34, 44) present this
relationship as one of great complexity, which does not necessarily
reflect the way it is managed in life. Neither by virtue of her
gender, age, or position in the family is the daughter endowed with
any authority. Some of the tales (5, 12, 15, 22, 44) confirm the
image of a carefree daughter able to manipulate her father into
acceding to her wishes, even those that go against social convention,
as in Tale
12. In
Tale 14 the father interprets his relationship to his daughter as one
of ownership - he wants to give her away in marriage, but to himself.
Although this desire, like
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