Speak Bird Speak Again
Page 35
Acceptance of fate is wisdom, and wisdom in these tales is ascribed to women as well as to men. The wisdom of men tends to innocence and passivity, whereas that of women tends to thinking and action. The king's daughter is far more skilled in the ways of the world than is Maruf, and it is Im Ali's drive and her practical advice that help her husband prosper. In "The Rich Man and the Poor Man," the women are the dominant figures, while the husbands are merely passive spectators in their wives' evolving drama. This group of tales, then - which were narrated by both men and women - makes an important statement about the position of women in the society. Indeed, it is clear upon reflection that the tales all along have acknowledged women's centrality in the social structure and their equality (if not superiority) to men in those fields of action in which men are supposed to excel. The tale of the woman who fell into the well exemplifies the whole collection in this regard. The woman in this tale is not passive; her generosity, first in giving the man the bread and then in attempting to pull him out of the well, commits her to a course of action that will change her life. Rather than sitting around, passively waiting for her brothers' vengeance, she runs away at night. She gives the children their names and is - as the teller makes clear from her narrative style - the very center of the family.