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Intertextuality and Comparative Analysis of Character and/or Themes
The Thousand and One nights and Teresa of Avila texts contain various similarities and differences in the creation and development of the stories. Both tales give accounts of individuals trying to achieve and fulfill their desires. In the thousand and one nights, the people in the middle to lower classes strive to attain their wishes in the harsh life of urban experiences. The women in the Teresa of Avila text strain to adapt to the chauvinism nature of the men represented in the era. Ladies have to follow all the orders given by the men in control of all aspects of life. The tales behold significant similarities and differences in the description of themes and representation of the significant characters.
One significant similarity between the two accounts is the mention and emphasis on the spiritual life of the characters. Teresa is fascinated by the stories of the Christian martyrs. The woman likes reading and listening to the stories because she believes that the individuals shed their blood for their spiritual beliefs. Besides, some of the martyrs had encountered God during their lives on earth (Bosch). This aspect is exciting, and firm believers would get attracted to the stories. This urge pushed Teresa an extra mile of convincing his younger brother Rodrigo to run away to the Muslim land for martyring. The main aim of the action was to get into a position to see God. The incident proves that Teresa beheld strong spiritual beliefs. In the thousand and one nights, the characters respond to the religious structure during the narration of the tale. For instance, Hajji Baba becomes a firm believer after transformation. The man adheres to all changes happening in the Muslim faith, although he faces some difficulties like the betrayal from Morier (Sallis, 8). As a non-believer, the latter does not appreciate all his friends who helped in Persia. However, Hajji tries as much as he could to emphasize strong faith and kind acts.
Women get undermined and intimidated in both texts. Men feel that they should exercise full control over the weak gender leading to intimidation of the opposite gender. In the thousand and one nights, ladies face condemnation for every little mistake committed. The context gives a weird description of the rules and regulations that women must follow without compromise. Breaking such rules or social aspects would result in very severe consequences on the victims. Some offenders would even receive a death sentence for the mistakes committed. For example, Zeynab was killed for conceiving before attaining the requirement of becoming the property of the Shah (Sallis, 8). Such structures tied women, and they were not supposed to get pregnant before the occasion. In the Spanish Gold Age in the Teresa of Avila narration, Women are not independent. The society practices male chauvinism and looks down upon all women. The ladies had a significant task of adapting to the control exercised by men in the community (Bosch). Both texts reveal the challenges experienced by women as their lives are dependent on men. The men could have practiced control over women due to jealousy and believe that the woman might get powerful and dominate the community.
The two stories reveal characters involved in the various reading articles to gain more knowledge about spiritual and cultural beliefs. Teresa created a habit of reading multiple books, and she could not go for a day without accessing a new book. According to the woman, a day without reading a book was a day lost, and she could never avoid the principle. The passion grew to escalated levels, and Teresa started writing articles on the religious network of church officials, networkers, confessors, patrons, and all religious communities (Ahlgren, 2). All the work written by the woman worked for religious reforms from the domination of Spanish cultures. The thousand and one nights represent and a non-Arab reader who has access to various texts. The literature in the story changes as the readers and the cultur...