Women have historically used their bodies and sexuality to influence the decisions of men. This also proves to be true in most present-day cultures around the world. Though a large majority of the countries of the world are led by men, women have a way of influencing men in their decisions. In both Lysistrata and The Thousand and One Nights, women have great influences on men in power to positively affect the community or kingdom in which the story takes place. In both literary works, this influence from the women brought peace to a society previously in turmoil. The way that women influence men in these works indicates that women in these cultures were able to use their sexuality to earn the right to speak into a man’s life, as they still do today, and positively influence the decisions of men in power due to their nurturing nature and community mindedness. In The Thousand and One Nights, King Shahrayar, the king of Persia, was causing turmoil as he sought vengeance on women for their infidelity by sleeping with a virgin every night and killing her the next morning. The protagonist, Shahrazad, daughter of the king’s vizier, was determined to bring peace back to the kingdom by putting a stop to the king’s slaughter. After Shahrazad volunteered to be the king’s next victim, she used her sexuality in sleeping with the king to gain respect and the right to speak in the king’s chamber. It was not her sexuality that saved her life, but her intellect and storytelling. However, her sexuality opened up the opportunity for her to save herself. From the introduction of The Thousand and One Nights, it is easy to tell that Shahrazad is family oriented, being very close to her father and sister. In the text, Shahrazad says to her father, “I would like you to marry me to King Shahrayar, so that I may either succeed in saving the people or perish and die like the rest” (The Thousand and One Nights 1575). This statement shows that Shahrazad is community-minded, putting the well-being of the kingdom before her own safety and well-being. These are motherly qualities shared by many women. It is because of these qualities that women have a positive influence on men. Men can often be self-centered and egotistical, much like King Shahrayar. A woman’s influence on a man in power helps the man make decisions for the well-being of the community, rather than himself, just as Shahrazad helped King Shahrayar. Like The Thousand and One Nights, Lysistrata deals with women using their sexuality to gain respect and speak into the lives of the men of Athens. This story mainly differs from The Thousand and One Nights in how the women’s sexuality is used. As opposed to sleeping with the men in power as Shahrazad did, it is the lack of sexual contact that the women in Lysistrata take advantage of. Lysistrata and the other women decide that they are tired of the men always being away fighting in the Peloponnesian War while their community suffers from their absence. When the men of Athens come home from war, the women deprive them of anything sexual in order to open opportunities to bring peace to their community. As displayed in the quarrel between Myrrhine and Kinesias, the men are driven to madness, forcing them to put a stop to the war (Aristophanes 761-765). Similar to The Thousand and One Nights, the women in Lysistrata gain control over the men through sexuality, but the stories differ in that the women in Lysistrata took control by force, where Shahrazad had to discretely gain control in fear for her life. Nonetheless, both methods of gaining control of the men’s decisions were achieved by women using their sexuality.
Again, the motherly nature of women comes into play. Because women are by nature concerned with the community, the women of Athens were motivated to put a stop to the Peloponnesian War. Not only was the community suffering financially from the expenses of war, but it was also left vulnerable and short-handed due to the absence of the men. Lysistrata saw that ending the war would benefit both the men and the women, as well as the community. With her sexuality, Lysistrata organized the women to sexually starve the men into submission, bringing peace and a greater well-being to two nations previously at war.
In The Thousand and One Nights and Lysistrata, Shahrazad and Lysistrata bring about great changes through their positive influence on men. These two women share certain qualities that make for great female leaders or supporters. As said previously, the women were selfless, as they risked their lives and reputations as they boldly used their sexuality as a tool of entry into the minds of men. In The Thousand and One Nights, Shahrazad was described as being extremely intelligent, as shown by the following passage:
Shahrazad had read the books of literature, philosophy, and medicine. She knew poetry by heart, had studied historical reports, and was acquainted with the sayings of men and the maxims of sages and kings. She was intelligent, knowledgeable, wise, and refined. She had read and learned. (The Thousand and One Nights 1575)
Lysistrata was also extremely intelligent. Her language in the play is more sophisticated than that of the rest of the women. The fact that she alone was able to organize the women’s sex strike proves her intelligence. The two women had this quality in common; a quality that makes for an excellent female leader or supporter.
Respect and confidence are two other key qualities necessary to have to be a successful leader, both of which Lysistrata and Shahrazad had. Shahrazad had to be confident because her life was on the line with her plan. Lysistrata had more respect among men and women due to her man-like features, and she had confidence in her plan to end the war. It is a given that women will be nurturing, selfless, and community-minded, but it takes intelligence, respect, and confidence for a women to lead or to influence a man in a position to lead. Shahrazad’s education, wisdom, and storytelling enabled her to put a cease to the king’s tyrannical rule and to change him into a happier and more stable leader over his people. Lysistrata’s intelligence and confidence allowed her to organize a movement to end the Peloponnesian War and bring stability back to Athens. Both of these accomplishments were made possible due to the harnessed power of a woman’s sexuality. Women will always be using their sexuality as a tool to gain access to a man’s mind, just as they have for generations. In The Thousand and One Nights and Lysistrata, the women, Shahrazad and Lysistrata, used their sexuality to open up opportunities to positively impact the community. Though their methods of gaining control differed, they were both able to bring peace and prosperity back to their communities through their nurturing nature and community-mindedness. These qualities, in addition to other important qualities, such as intelligence, selflessness, confidence, and respect, defined these women, and helped put them in the position to make their influences on the men in power. These are qualities that any woman in a leadership position or with an influence on someone in a leadership position should have and make use of. To benefit his nation, it would be wise for any man in a position of leadership to heed the advice of a woman. The women in these works must have understood this because they were able to implement these qualities through their sexuality in order to ensure the well-being of their community. Works Cited
Lawall, Sarah N., and Maynard Mack. "Lysistrata." The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Beginnings to A. D. 100. Vol. A. New York: Norton, 2002. 725-78. Print.
Lawall, Sarah N., and Maynard Mack. "The Thousand and One Nights." The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 100-1500. Vol. B. New York: Norton, 2002. 1566-618. Print.