The influence of Arabian Nights on Modern

European theatre:
Strindbergs Abu Casems Slippers as a case study

Written in Arabic by: Abdelilah Kasraoui

Translated by: Nor-Eddine Azalmad
Doctorant lUniversit Mohammed V
Facult des sciences de Lducation
Rabat, Morocco
Adress: Lycee Hassan II. Tinejdad. Morocco
E-mail: azalmad.norddine@gmail.com
Phone Numer : +212669882172
Abstract
Arabian Nights is a very famous literary work worldwide. It has been translated into many
languages and has influenced world literature be it Eastern or Western one.

This article seeks to highlight the influence of Arabian Nights on Modern

European theatre by studying Abu Casems Slippers, a play by the
Swedish playwright, Strindberg in its French translation.

The main goal of this study is to reveal the impact of this work on
Modern European drama, especially Strindbergs, who is considered to
be a prominent pioneer of European theater. The article aims also at
considering the influence of East as a whole on the Scandinavian
literature about which we know very little when compared to literature
of other nations. Moreover, this case study will enable us to shed light
on the spaciousness of the perceptions of this playwright and his
knowledge about other cultures especially Eastern ones.

Key words: Arabian Nights; Literature; Modern European drama;

Strindberg
It is worth noting that the play under study is not a famous one; that is why I did not

find considerable literature which dealt with it, except for an article by Mohammad

Omar1. Another reason which has increased the difficulty of the research is my

limited knowledge about the Swedish language, so I could not read what was

written by Swedish writers about the play.

Literature, especially those literary works that focus on commonalities and trends of

humanity which attract all people, is a sound factor in the rapprochement between

different nations. The ancient Eastern creative works, especially those written in

Arabic, has enjoyed an important status among world nations particularly European

ones which had come to lead the world after the decline of the Arab-Islamic

civilization.

With the spread of translation movement and cultural exchanges, many of Arab literary works were part

of European culture. Such works are Kalila and Dimna, Hayy Ibn Yaqdhan, Maqamat, Arabian Nights

and so forth. Mutual influence between cultures is a healthy phenomenon and the acculturation between

Arabs and Europeans is an example among many others.

1-A glimpse at the presence of Arabian Nights in European Theatre.

Arabian Nights is one of the universal literary works that has enjoyed an unrivalled popularity. It has been

translated into many languages leaving its impact on literature of those languages. Its stories have been

refined in ways that suit children for its educational importance thanks to their fertile imagination,

suspense and novelty. That is why, such stories as Sinbad, Aladin and the Lamp and Abu Casem Al-

1*This article was published in Arrafid Magazine in Arabic N 178/2012. (the published
article lacked many details which the writer has showed me while translating the article)
Baghdadi became famous among kids. Moreover, the production of many films have been inspired by

tales of Arabian Nights.

Arabian Nights has influenced world literature be it Eastern or Western one in the form of novels, stories,

poems and plays. However, this paper limits the scope to consider only the impact of the work on modern

European theatre.

It should be noted that the fact that European theatre was influenced by Arabian Nights is not a new

phenomenon as many stories of Arabian Nights were known in the middle ages because of the availability

of acculturation means such as the presence of Arab culture in Spain which was ruled by Arabs for a long

time and say the same for Sicily in southern Italy, not to mention the East-west friction caused by

crusades for two centuries. This enabled Europeans to benefit from the East in many areas like literature

by taking many of the popular folk tales at that time besides the news tales and descriptions of the East

which were taken by merchants, sailors and pilgrims of Jerusalem.

The story of Sinbad is one of the most popular stories of Arabian Nights in Europe in the middle Ages2.

This story became later part of stories of Arabian Nights and was translated into Castilian in 1253 and it

takes the title of The Book of Womens Tricks. In Arabian Nights, it is either entitled A tale about

womens tricks or The story of the king, his son, his servant and the seven ministers It was also

translated into Latin by Joannes Di Alta Selva in his work The Seven Sages of Rome. The story was then

translated into Italian, English, German, Dutch and Danish.

The story as appeared in Arabian Nights consists of twenty six tales linked by the event that a kings wife

tried to seduce a son of his, but he refuses her seduction, then she complained to the king claiming that he

seduced her. The king got angry and ordered to kill him. However, his seven ministers advised him to

make sure of the charge for seven days during which the events take a sequence. These tales have

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influenced one of the most important pioneers of European fiction, namely Boccaccio in his work

Decameron3.

The story of The Odalisque Tawadod was also as famous as the story of Sinbad. The tale tells about

debates which took place between her and scholars of Haroun al Rachid palace and which ended in her

victory. This story was also translated into Spanish and it left a great impact on many Spanish

playwrights.

Spanish drama remains of the early European theaters influenced by Arabian Nights given the cultural

and civilisational heritage left there by Arabs. In 1499, Fernando de Rojas wrote his La Celestina which

tells the story of a young boy who was in love with a young lady who refused him. When he failed to get

her heart, he resorted to an old crafty woman who showed him many tricks to seduce the girl giving the

old woman gifts and presents.

The Arab influence in the play is shown through the insistence on womens honor in addition to the

specification that had been assigned to the old malicious woman. This is an element which is insisted

upon in Arab stories that revolved around womens tricks, as in Arabian Nights in which a story of an old

woman who pretends to be good enters peoples homes to seduce their girls for a young boy who pays her

for her work4.

Another work in which we see some Arab influence is Doncella Teodor, a play written by Lope de Vega

in the seventeenth century. The play was inspired by the story of Odalisque Tawadod that was mentioned

previously.

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There are also many assumptions that Shakespeare was also influenced by Arabian Nights. These

assumptions are based on strong similarities, some of which are a result of direct influence of

Shakespeare by Arabian Nights through tales that were taken by pilgrims, merchants or those who came

back from the Crusades or what was taken to the European culture through Islamic Andalusia 5.

Shakespeare can be influenced indirectly when reading other works influenced by Arabic Nights. The

examples of Shakespeares works which were linked to Arabian Nights are:

- Alls well that Ends Well which is said that it was inspired by Boccaccios Decameron6.
- The play of Othello7 which is very similar to the story of The Three Apples in Arabian Nights. The

play tells about a Moroccan leader called Othello and his wife Desdemona. The name Othello

may be derived from the Arab names Abdellah or Attallah. It is said that Shakespeare has inspired

the play from Giovanni Battista Giraldi.

- The play of The Taming of The shrew which talks about the repentance of a drunk, an event which

is present in tales of Arabian Nights.

Generally, Shakespeares knowledge about the East as that of the elite of his age was made up of what

they received from tales about the East that come from the Crusades, travelers and adventurers. The East

in Shakespeares works is a site of legend full of secrets, birds, ghosts and heaven8.

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Theatre of the seventeenth century was not without the influence of Arabian Nights. The making up of

plays shows the influence through Eastern settings 9 and persons like in Molieres The Bourgeois

Gentleman in which Eastern elements such as clothes and persons are markedly present.

The eighteenth century is very important in the research of the influence of Arabian Nights on European

drama, for in this century that relations between East and West increased as the amount of wests benefits,

especially commercial ones in the East grows, in addition to the colonization process and trips made by

many European figures to the East. An exemple of this is Richard Pococks Description of the East in

which the trips present an exotic marvelous image about the East. This influenced greatly many writers

who were motivated to know more about Eastern literature in the form of its stories among which we find

Arabian Nights. One of the first plays influenced by Arabian nights in the eighteenth century was Almyna

or the Arabian Vow by Delarivier Manley in 1707.

The most important event, however, when talking about the presence of Arabian Nights in European

theatre was the translation of the work into French by the orientalist Antoine Galland between 1704 and

1713.

This translation had a magical impact, as the tales of Arabian Nights spread and printed quickly and many

Europeans worked on the translation of the tales into Latin, German and Slavian languages. The East in

this century became an example to which thinkers of the eighteenth century resort to in order to show the

weaknesses and problems of their society like Montesquieus Persian Letters.

The following are examples of the eighteenth century plays influenced by Arabian Nights.

- Almyrai (Almyna) or The Arabian vow by Delarivier Manley

- Aladin by Lessing
- The barber of Seville by Beaumarchais

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In the nineteenth century, which is Romance century in most Europe, many writers, especially French

ones seek new sources of writing away from European milieu. These found what they sought in the

magical and simple East. Arabian Nights benefited from this trend so that its printing increased year by

year. As a result, it was adapted in the writing of many plays:

- The story of Aladin was adapted by many playwrights such as Guilbert Pixercourt, Albert Vanloo and

William Busnach

- Si Jetait Roi by Adolphe dEnnery

- La Mille et Deuxime Nuit by Jules Verne

- Aladin by Oehlenschlaeger

And it is no harm, in the same vein, to mention Abu Hassan by the American writer Washington Irving.

The beginning of the twentieth century witnessed a new translation for Arabian Nights by Joseph Charles

Mardrus in 1899 which he claimed that it was the first literal translation of the tales. The influence of

Arabian Nights on European theatre in the twentieth century is hard to limit because of the great evolution

of communication means as television, channels, computers, the internet and the like have became a great

defeater of loneliness. People no more need to travel to the other; the other comes to you and lives with

you. Communication means has widened the circle of influencing and being influenced.

The following are some examples of European plays in the twentieth century which took its events from

the Arabian Nights. Jules Supervielle has adapted the story of Chahrazad and Strindberg did the same

with the story of Abu Casems Slippers, while James Flecker wrote the play Hassan, not to mention the

influence of the work on many other plays like Lorcas10.

2- Strindberg and the East

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Strindberg (1849-1912) is considered to be one of the greatest Swedish writers who enjoyed a

considerable status in the world of literature. He was a playwright, a novelist, a story writer and a painter.

However, he is well known as a playwright for his numerous works in drama and also for inventing new

forms of play writing11.

Strindberg was born to a family of many members. His father was a merchant of the Swedish middle

bourgeoisie, while his mother was of a poor family and died in the outset of his second decade.

Strindberg discovered his ability to write in many attempts in 1869, but the beginning of his fame as a

distinguished writer was thanks to his tragedy Master Olof and his special work The Red Room in 1879.

Strindberg was influenced by many thinkers and authors such as Nietzsche, Jean Jack Rouseau, Hugo and

Zola and such Scandinavian figures as B. Jornson, Jonas Lie and Nils Nilsson.

Strindberg established Intimate theatre as he went into humans inside through his works to discuss such

traits as hypocrisy, chicanery, falsity, delusion and fear and issues which concern family structure and

reasons of its collapse. The Storm and Black Gloves are among plays which represent this trend.

In connection with the theme of the article, we seek to focus on Strindberg in relation with the East as we

tried to show this relationship through revealing instances of East influence in his theatre.

It is worth noting that many of the professions that Strindberg went through in his life helped in widening

his knowledge as he worked as a teacher. He worked in the National library and journalism in addition to

his great love of reading and studying of sciences not to mention the seriousness and conservatism which

characterized his family.

His work, especially in the National Library, helped him a lot to get in touch with

books. This has enriched his knowledge about the history of other cultures and

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literature among which we find Eastern culture, especially in its spiritual side. Lots

of books of Sufism, literature, theology and mythology were found in his personal

library.

Among the books which show that Strindberg knows something about Eastern civilizations is Henry

Thomas Buckles History of Civilizations. The different writings of Strindberg are good evidence of his

encyclopedic knowledge.

Strindbergs knowledge about the East was at different levels especially the religious one. In the last few

years of his life, Strindberg had hard psychological crisis from 1892 to 1898. In this period, he gave much

interest to religions and Sufism. He read books of such thinkers as Sundberg and Blavatsky who talked

about religion in their works.

Strindbergs interest about religion has influenced many of his drama works as they witnessed a

significant presence of Eastern religions. A Dream Play and To Damascus are two cases in point.

A Dream Play shows that Strindberg was influenced by Hinduism. The events of the play show that the

Hindu Goddess (Andra) is trying to know why do people always complain and suffer. She sends her

daughter (Agens) to meet as many people as possible in order to listen to them and observe forms of their

sufferings. She found that these people deserve compassion.

The presence of Christianity is plain in To Damascus. The play is a journey into the deep inside of a hero

who abandons life and its fun and goes to a church where he devotes his life to serve humanity.

Strindbergs readings of different literary works have increased his influence by the East. These works are

either Eastern or non-Eastern ones in which the East is highly present. One of the main examples that

could be cited in this context is Strindbergs reading of Arabian Nights. The evidence of this is the play

under study Abu Casems Slippers and his Lucky Peters Travels12 which was inspired by other Eastern
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tales. Strindberg has also read other literary works which were influenced by Arabian Nights such as

Oehlenschlaegers play Aladdin13.

In addition to what is mentioned previously, we can add Strindbergs reading of West-Eastern Divan

which is written by the German author Goethe and in which Strindberg was influenced by Eastern poetry

be it Persian, like the poetry of Hafiz and Omar Khayyam, or Arab Poetry. Catherina Momzen claims that

he was influenced by poets like Imru` al-Qais, Antarah Ibn Shaddd, Al-Hrith ibn Hillizah, Hatim Al-

Tai, Qays ibn al-Mullawah, Labid Ben Rabia and others 14. Catherina states also that Goethe himself was

influenced by Arabian Nights15 in many of his works as he adapted the form of Arabian Nights or its

themes. Among these works are: Wilhelm Meister's Journeyman Years The Recreations of the German

Emigrants - The Wayward Lover - Faust Part Two - the last part of Elective Affinities. Catherine has dealt

with this issue in her book Goethe and Arabian Nights. Strindbergs acquaintance with Goethes works

helped to pass on many Eastern characteristics to his works. Mentioning the name of Zoulikha in Abu

Casems Slippers reminds us of Zoulikha which appeared in West-Eastern Divan and which symbolizes

Goethes old love of Marianne von Willemer.

One cannot talk about Strindbergs relation with the East without mentioning his interest in Eastern

Languages. He was good at Chinese and we suppose that he has read works from the Chinese literature

and that this has boosted his relation with the Eastern cultures. Additionally, Eastern languages were

present in his book World Languages Racines.

3. The story of Abu Casem Etanbouris Slippers in its original references

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14

15
Abu Casems Slippers is among the short plays that Strindberg wrote in the last years of his life. Short

literary works constitute a good proportion of his overall publications. Strindberg has adapted a lot from

the story of Abu Casem Etanbouris Slippers to write Abu Casems Slippers in 1908. Europeans knew the

story as it was included in the translations of Arabian Nights such as Mardruss and the following ones.

The original story, as appeared in Ibn Hoja Elhamaouis Fruits of leaves, tells that there was a man in

Bagdad called Abu Casem Etanbouri. He has got a pair of shoes which he has owned for a long time.

Whenever it is torn or damaged, he repairs it till it becomes too heavy and becomes well known among

people. One day, Abu Casem went to the glass market. He met a broker who advised him to buy glass of

merchant. Abu Casem did so and went to the spice dealers market where another broker advised him to

buy rose water of a merchant in a hurry. Abu Casem bought it and put it in gilded glassware and placed

them on a shelf in his house. One day, Abu Casem went to the hammam (steam bath). One of his friends

advised him to change his ugly shoe. When he came out of the hammam, he found a new pair of shoes

next to his. He thought that a friend of his bought it for him. He put it on and went.

The new shoe was the judges who came to the hammam on the same day. When he came out and found

that his shoe was not there. He asked if the person who took it left something instead. When he looked

around, he found Abu Casems slippers and he knew that it is his as people say as heavy as Abu Casems

Slippers when referring to something which is too heavy. The judge sent his soldiers to inspect Abu

Casems house and they found the judges shoe there. The judge punished and fined him. Because of this,

Abu Casem decided to throw the slippers into Dejla River, but it was stuck in a net of a fisherman who

brought it to Abu Casem. The fisherman did not find Abu Casem and he decided to throw it through the

window. The slippers hit the shelf on which there was the gilded glassware and broke everything. Abu

Casem wanted to make a hole to bury it in. the neighbors heard him and thought that he is a thief. They

brought him to the judge who imprisoned and fined him.

When he came out of the prison, he took his slippers and threw it into a privy. The slippers blocked the

drop pipe and people complained about the bad smell. They found out later on that Abu Casems slippers

are the reason. The Judge fined him again

Abu Casem decided then to keep his slippers. He washed it and put it on the roof. A dog, however, took

the slippers to another roof. It fell on a pregnant woman and killed her embryo. Abu Casem was

severely blamed and made amends for the woman. At the end, Abu Casem took the slippers to the judge

and asked him to write an official statement that shows that the slippers no longer belong to him.

What concerns us in the play is not Strindbergs faithfulness to the details of the Arab story as it appeared

in Fruits of the Leaves which was added to Arabian Nights in its translation into European languages. We

will focus on the love relationship between Zoulikha who hates men and the prince Kouri. Strindberg has

adapted features of this love story from Arabian Nights with a different vision. We will try to show the

relationship between the authorship of the play and the circumstances in which the author lived.

4 Love in the Play

Strindberg wrote Abu Casems Slippers under special conditions. He had a relationship with Fanny

Falkner, an actress who had a role in his play Easter. He stayed at her parents in the blue tower in

Stockholm. There a love story between Strindberg and the actress was built and the house was the last in

which Strindberg lived.

There is a love story in the play between Zoulikha, Abu Casems daughter, and a prince. The story tells

that Zoulikha saw a dream in which she was warned about mens betrayal. She decided to stay single her

whole life. However, destiny made a prince fall in her love. It was hard for him and he suffered a lot till

he got sick. Hassan thought of a way to get them together. The prince was given clothes of an old man to

wear and he laid in a bed in front of Zoulikhas house. Zoulikha saw him and she felt pity about him. She

took his hand and felt that his heart is beating so fast. When she put her hand on his heart, it stopped
beating for a while and then started beating again. However, the most exciting moment in the play is

when their eyes met and Zoulikha fell in love.

Let us see how did Strindberg describe this scene in the following two parts:

The First part shows the trick suggested by Hassan to get them together.

Hassan:

I have an idea prince.

Prince:

Go ahead, say it

Hassan:

Your Highness.

There is an old tradition in our town.

When a man is ill, we make a bed for him on the street in front of his house.

Prince:

I know the tradition

Hassan:

When the bed is on the way, people pass by the sick person and inquire about his health and the person

tells them about his status.

*******
Come on prince lay on this bed.

You are really ill and you dont need pretend.

A few make up will facilitate the matter.
Well put your bed in front of her house16.

The second part reveals the application of the trick through getting Zoulikha to go for a walk in the city

with the servant. She will pass by the bed where the prince is laid. She will get closer to inquire about his

health and then she will fall in his love.

Hassan:

There are ill people in the town.

Zoulikha:

Whats the illness?

Hassan:

No one knows

They cry and suffer

They neither eat nor drink

They seek the moons light

They feel lonely

And they say that they scratch a lot ()

They write letters perfumed by ambergris

16 This part is my own translation from the French version (Thtre complet.
p : 320-321)
They send them secretly under the care of their slaves ()

Zoulikha:

Oh old clown! You mean crazy sick lovers

Hassan:

Its not a normal illness young lady.

I saw him once. It was hard. I tell you the truth

Zoulikha:

Oh! Listen! Youre funny

Hassan:

Dont laugh! Allah is greatest and most merciful

He can make a mans kids love him

But if he didnt show his forgiveness, youll be cursed by the illness

Too much love can mean death

Zoulikha:

Youre a scary person Hassan!

Hassan:

Its very hard!

But I feel bored here and Im in a hurry.

Why dont you go for a walk in the town?

I will go and bring my sister, your servant

Go with her to get some fresh air.

Zoulikha:

Go, do as you wish

You have been troubled by Zoulikha

(We take the bed and put it in front of the door)

Ali:

Weve just put the bed in front of the door

Hassan:

Ill go and suggest help

I know the pain and I know the cure

The servant: (comes in)

Im ready beautiful lady!

Shall we go now or you want to dine?

Zoulikha:

Ill go out at night so that I can get rid of my burka

*******
Zoulikha:

And this person a man or a woman?

Hassan:

Hes a man

Zoulikha:

A young one?

Hassan:

Oh! Oh! Hes an old man!

Soulaiman:

Hassan is a brave man!

Its pity hes become a liar!

Zoulikha:

If hes too old, I can see him

And I may give him some support

Hassan:

Sure you can! No one else can

(Zoulikha gets closer to the bed and Soulaiman makes grimaces)

Zoulikha: (next to the bed)

Whats the matter old man?

Your heart? Hows it beating?

Give me your hand!

Oh my Allah! You have high fever and your hand is shaking

But its beautiful for an old man

Let me check your heart! Its not fine

It stopped! Its beating again. Its getting slower

It stopped. Hes dying!

Let me see your eyes

(Zoulikha gazes at his eyes and falls in love)

Oh Iblis! Oh Hassan the cad

Oh devil coming from hell! Oh my Allah

Hassan:

She fell in love. Oh what a joy! The arrow gets the body.

(The prince gets up and puts the clothes he was wearing. He throws his cover away while Zoulikha was

running into the garden and her had on her heart17)

5. Assumptions concerning the authorship of the play

17 This part is my own translation from the French version (Thtre complet. p : 328-332)
Lots of assumptions about the play come to mind. Each focuses on a particular point which is assumed to

influence the work: the playwright, Fanny Falkner and the audience. the play pushes us to ask lots of

questions such as the following:

What is the reason behind writing the play? Is it addressed to kids? Did Strindbergs relationship with

Fanny Falkner influence the content of the play?

The author lived under special conditions assumed to have an impact on the content of the play. The

author wrote the play after a failed love relationship. This pushes us to study his relationship with women.

Strindbergs relationship with women is complicated. Sometimes, he fights for them and calls for their

rights such as their rights to vote, but sometimes he underestimates them. His different writings were a

space to show his feelings and attitudes towards women. Among these works are his famous article the

last word in womens issue and his story collection Married in which he represented women as

oppressive and sinful creatures who exploit men.

Strindbergs relationship with women has been in the interest of many researchers who presented different

interpretations about it. One of these researchers is Eivor Martinus in his book Strindberg and Love.

Strindberg loved his mother a lot and he showed this in his work the Son of a Servant. However,

Strindbergs bad relationship with women started with his step-mother, Emillia Charlotta. His father got

married after his mothers death. Strindber and Charlotta were not on good terms and he hated her a lot.

The actress Siri von Essen was the first woman whom Strindberg loved. He got married with her in 1877.

They lived together for twelve years and they gave birth to three kids. He got married then with the

journalist Frida Uhl in 1893. They lived together for three years and they gave birth to one child. The

third marriage of Strindberg was with the actress and the singer Harriet Bosse in 1901. Their marriage did

not last long as the previous one and they gave birth to one child.
It is worth mentioning that Strindberg had a relationship with the actress and the painter Fanny Falkner in

the last few years of his life18. He has chosen her to play a role in his play Easter. Their relationship

pushed him to live with her parents in the bleu tower in Stockholm. Fanny worked with Strindberg in

Intimate theatre for some years, but she was obliged to leave towards Copenhagen because of rumors

about their marriage. Fanny had an impact on some Strindbergs works as in Abu Casems Slippers as she

wrote on its cover a Quaranic verse. She had also a share at the end of the play The Great Highway. This

reminds us of the poetic participations of Marianne von Willemer, Goethes beloved, in his work West-

Eastern Divan.

Generally, Strindbergs works present a negative image on women, especially women who refuse

marriage. However, Zoulikha in Abu Casems Slippers had a positive image though she refused marriage.

Mohamed Omar sees that the scene of Zoulikha next to the princes bed is a mere symbol of Strindbergs

relationship with Fanny Falkner. Senility is only a mask the inside of the old man is full of youth and

Zoulikha needs only to decipher the secret in the eyes of the prince who is hidden behind the clothes of

the old man19. Strindberg wrote the play under the impact of his psychological status which was a result of

Fannys refusal to him. This psychological status has to do with the gist of the Quranic verse on the cover

of the first edition.

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

(1)Have we not expended thee thy breast (2) And removed from thee thy burden (3) The which did gall thy

back (4) And raised high the esteem (in which) thou (art held) (5) So verily with every difficulty, there is

relief (6)Verily with every difficulty there is relief (7) Therefore, when thou art free (from thine immediate

18

19
task) Still labour hard (8) and to thy Lord turn (all) thy attention. 20

The playwright resorted to the verse which comforted the prophet of Islam and Jesus Christ before.

Strindberg need not be sad as he will win the heart of Fanny and get out of his sickness and despair21.

We can also assume that Strindberg wrote this play with the influence of his reading of Arabian Nights,

especially the story of Abu Casem Ettanbourys Slippers with no impact of his personal conditions. He

has also used other information in the play which he adapted from Arabian Nights like mentioning the

story of Ahmed, the merchant. Strindberg might also be influenced by other works which were in turn

influenced by Arabian Nights such as Oehlenschlaegers play Aladdin. Strindberg admired the

playwright22 and he wanted to do the same and write a work in which he would adapt a story from

Arabian Nights as many others did.

The aforementioned explanation presented by Mohamed Omar did not consider that the Quranic verse on

the works cover was not Strindbergs but Fanny Falkners. This makes us question about her purpose in

choosing this particular verse.

We assume that Fanny Falkner wrote the verse on the cover in order to help him overcome his despair as

the verse did for the prophet of Islam. The validity of this assumption is related to Fannys knowledge

about the conditions under which the verse appeared. This requires a considerable knowledge about

Islamic culture a thing which is hard to confirm or disconfirm.

20

21

22
We can also assume that the appearance of the Quaranic verse on the cover of the play was just to put a

cultural item which is compatible with the play whose events are taking place in an Arab-Islamic

environment and the short verse served the purpose.

Actually, Fanny Falkner was getting embarrassed because of her relationship with Strindberg. He was

more than sixty years old and she was less than twenty. This reminds us of Goethes relationship with

Mariana whom he loved when he is around sixty years old. We cannot also ignore that Fanny feels pity

about him and visits him very often in his apartment in her parents house 23. She was serving him in many

things such as feeding him. What shows that she was getting embarrassed about the relationship is that

when he talked to her about marriage she requested some time to think about it 24 then she was forced to

leave to Copenhagen with the spread of rumors about their marriage.

We can also say that Strindberg wrote the play to a special audience. The play was like a tale for children

as well as for adults. Concerning children, we can assume that he wrote it for his daughter Christine who

was less than ten years old. Christine, due to her age, was the most likely reason which urged Strindberg

to write the play.

In this respect, we can also say that since the play is addressed to kids or particularly to Christine pushed

him not to present his ideas about women in order not to influence kids and to present special values like

compassion, faithfulness, love and help which characterized the personality of Zoulikha.

Conclusion

23

24
This article aimed to reveal the influence of Arabian Nights on European theatre studying Strindberg who

is known for his numerous publications and his innovation in drama.

Showing the influence required talking about Strindbergs relationship with the East, through some works

which he had read be it Eastern such as Arabian Nights or others like West-Eastern Divan or other works

which adapted the stories of Arabian Nights like Oehlenschlaegers Aladdin. We assumed also that

Strindberg has a considerable knowledge about the Eastern literature in general and the Chinese in

particular as he knows Chinese very well.

We moved then to study the play whose title is the evidence which directs us to Arabian Nights,

especially the story of Abu Casem Ettanbourys Slippers which Europeans come to know through

Mardrus translation of Arabian Nights. The influence becomes plain when reading the play which is full

of events that exist in the original story.

We focused on the love story between Zoulikha and the prince Kouri which is adapted from Arabian

Nights with a new vision. The most important thing in this relationship is what it represents and this is

what we tried to show through some assumptions.

References

(1) Mohamed Omar. Strindbergs Islamic Motives. Translated by Said

Aljaafar. www.alhewar.org Art and Literature section; Retrieved
on April 16th, 2011.

(2) The influence of Arabs and Islam on European Renaissance. A group of

authors. The general board of authorship and publication. Cairo 1970 P. 77

(3) Ibid. P. 78

(4) Ibid. P. 132

(5) Ibid. P. 134

(6)Abbas Mahmoud Al Akkad. The Influence of Arabs on Western civilization.

Egypt Renaissance for publication and distribution. N.d. P.56

(7)Abbas Mahmoud Al Akkad. Full work. Translations and autobiographies.

Lebanese Book House. Bayreuth 1st edition. 1981. Vol 19. Pp 243 on.

(8)Ibid. P. 284

(9)Sohair Elkalmaoui. One Thousand Nights and a Night. Dar Almaarif Egypt.
4th Edition. N.d P. 72

(10) The influence of Arabs and Islam on European Renaissance. A group of

authors. The general board of authorship and publication. Cairo 1970 P. 132

(11) All the pieces of information related to Strindbergs life were taken from two references:
lAffont-Bompiani, Dictionnaire des auteurs, Editions Robert Laffont 1980, page : 403 on
Wikipedia (Sweden) Retrieved on April 20th , 2011.

(12) August Strindberg. Thtre complet, tom 6, larche, paris1982, P. 29

(13) Ibid. P. 29

(14) Cathrina Momzen. Goethe and the Arab world. Translated by Adnan
Abbas Ali. Aalam Almaarifa 194/1995. Kuwait pp : 30 on

(15) Ibid. P. 18 on
(18) Wikipedia (Sweden) Retrieved on April 20th, 2011.

(19) Mohamed Omar. Strindbergs Islamic Motives. Translated by Said Aljaafar.

www.alhewar.org Art and Literature section retrieved on April 16th, 2011.

(20) Abdullah Yusuf Ali. The Meaning of the Holy Quran. 11 th edition. Amana
Publications: Beltsville, Maryland, U.S.A. 2008

(21) Mohamed Omar. Strindbergs Islamic Motives. Translated by Said Aljaafar.

www.alhewar.org Art and Literature section retrieved on April 16th, 2011.

(22) Thtre complet, p. 29.

(23) Thtre complet, p : 15.

(24) Thtre complet, p : 15.