The Literary Mind.pdf

126 THE LITERARY MIND
or a reengineered past or a world in which a time machine has appeared from
the future, Shahrazad does visit England, for example.
A story space that is conditional upon another story space can be viewed as
counterfactual because of the condition ("If Shahrazad had visited England..."),
as counterfactual because of the consequence ("If Shahrazad had not married
Shahriyar, the kingdom would have fallen, but it didn't fall, so I know she must
have married him"), or as unreal but potentially real ("If Shahrazad marries
Shahriyar, we will be saved").
A mental viewpoint can be defined by a role. When we comment on the
story of Shahrazad "from the viewpoint of " Shahrazad, or the vizier, or Shahriyar,
or Dinarzad, we are concerned not with their spatial or temporal viewpoints, but
rather with their mental viewpoints, defined relative to their roles. Imagine the
spatial and temporal viewpoint and focus on the wedding night that belong to
the vizier, or Shahrazad, or Shahriyar, or Dinarzad. Now imagine, by contrast,
the very different mental viewpoint and focus on the wedding night that belong
to the vizier, or Shahrazad, or Shahriyar, or Dinarzad as they inhabit their roles.
A given character in the story may shift mental viewpoint, so that, for example,
Shahrazad may try to see the story she is engaged in "from the viewpoint" of
King Shahriyar.
The Thousand and One Nights explores as a continual and basic theme the
influence of one's relation to a story upon one's mental viewpoint and focus on
that story. My favorite such exploration is the tale of the barber's fifth brother,
Al-Ashar, who narrates (to himself) a daydream he imagines of his future prosperity.
While he is imagining the story, he is sitting on a corner with a basket of
glassware to sell. He has invested his entire patrimony in this merchandise. He
imagines that he sells all his glassware and with the profit buys twice as much.
In his elaborate and absorbing daydream, it does not take him long to become
very rich. By the middle of the daydream, he is marrying the lovely daughter of
the vizier. Throughout the entire daydream, he imagines himself not as sitting
at a crossroads, but as lordly. In the daydream, the vizier bows to him, and
Al-Ashar conducts himself with the greatest magnificence and generosity, like
a king. His new wife wants his love, but his pride keeps him aloof:
"I will neither speak to her nor even look at her. Presently the bride's
mother will come in, kissing my head and hand, and saying: 'My lord,
look upon your slave-girl, who yearns for your favour; speak to her and
heal her broken spirit.' I will make no answer. She will throw herself
down at my feet, kissing them again and again, and saying: 'Your slave
is a beautiful virgin and she has seen no man but you. On my knees I