A discursive analysis of ideologies perpetuated in the “Arabian Nights”

Abstract

This study analyzes five short stories from the ‘Arabian Nights’, with special focus on the representation of the female characters in those stories. The research is carried out in an attempt to underline and examine the ideologies and power relations that are perpetuated and maintained within the discourse of the ‘Arabian Nights’ about women and also to reveal the hidden ideologies and biases associated with them. In order to achieve this aim, the five short stories are analyzed from the perspective of CDA drawing on Thompson’s (1990) model concerning the typical modes of operation and the strategies associated with. Through a discursive analysis of the selected data about the portrayal of female characters into Arabic and English versions, the findings of this study indicate that women in the ‘Arabian Nights’ are depicted in a negative way through specific linguistic features that perpetuate certain ideologies which serve to maintain and sustain male superiority. Going along with this study, we are led to perceive that ‘Arabian Nights’ discourse is biased and misogynist.