Persian letters appear to be a desperate tale of lobbying against women's empowerment. Starting with each of the wives' opening letters to Usbek and continuing through Roxana's death by suicide at the end of the novel, at first glance these letters reek of despair and cyclical fear for the woman during this period. However, even though these epistles seem to speak of an insurmountable irreparability and impossibility for gender equality, a closer look reveals a strongly feminist manifesto circumventing this society. These feminist undertones are widely visible in Roxana's sacrificial death, as well as in the writings on the Feminine Paradise. But even aside from these plot points, there is a consistent tone about women's rights that underpins the entire novel. This alternative and empowering reading encourages unique sources of power for these women; They may not be able to fully escape the hell they are optimally subjected to, but time and time again their writings and actions remind readers that female agency is possible, depending on how they are looking for it. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The Wives of Persian Letters depict an excellent example of protofemininity. Usbek's wives are submissive in every way, but often this behavior is purely displayed out of necessity or survival - later we learn that this also has to do with the fact that they are having extramarital affairs and want to have the freedom to do it. As humans, they are entirely enslaved and used for their bodies, always having to submit to Usbek's rule. They are also aware of this restrictive lifestyle to which they are forced, Fatme even calling herself a “free woman, by the chance of birth… enslaved by the violence of her love” (46). Each wife has a unique way of dealing with Usbek's whims and desires while communicating with him. By writing to him, they each display their own style and their own way of managing it in order to acquire maximum freedom; they act according to all their feminist desires and capacities. They are incapable of openly defending women's rights or denouncing their injustices. So they use specific and distinctive language to manipulate Usbek and get what they want. Zashi plays the nostalgic lover, reminding her that she "is looking for you all the time and can't find you anywhere" (43) and referring to the times when "they" fell in love. Zephis is the damsel in distress, complaining about “how unhappy I am!” ” and how “all I need is you” (44) to bring him happiness again. Fatme takes on the role of the unapologetic lover, verging on Stockholm syndrome at various points in her letter. She pines for him and “still tries to get into the habit of being attractive” (47). Roxana is unlike any other wife. She only wrote to Usbek during the last year of her escapade, playing hard (without “playing”). Their different approach tactics prove significant because they are acutely aware of every word they say and the order in which they speak to him. These letters initially spark concern for the women and an urgent need to save them from Usbek, who has apparently brainwashed them; Fatme in the seventh letter seems particularly too distant. However, the way they present themselves is actually more of a form of action than anything else. In each letter, a significant amount of buttering takes place - whether in the form of a show of weakness or complete refusalof communication, so that by the time they need or want something, they have either passed out or impressed Usbek enough to ask for it. Through their letters to Usbek and their actions in their country, we see that the power they have at the end of the novel is far greater than the power they were given at the beginning, with the chief eunuch even stating to Usbek that his “wives” came to think that [his] departure meant total impunity for them” (270). The change in the power structure here eventually leads to Usbek's demise as it gives the wives the power to decide their own lives. They become characters capable of skillfully manipulating and twisting within their adverse situations to make the most of the hand they are dealt. Roxana may not be able to be with the man she loves; Zashi may not be as sexually adventurous as she wants to be outside of the company of her slaves (270), but they are able to find nooks and crannies to carve out the lives they want – given unavoidable and unfortunate circumstances. It is thanks to this written and muffled manipulation, initially derogatory, that all this action is made possible. Roxana's death is sad and discouraging; she must die to gain power and happiness. In the middle of the Persian tale of women's paradise, Zulema declares: "We are so miserable that we cannot not want something different...I only wish to die myself...since that is the only way I can hope to be separated from you. , I will still find such separation pleasant” (249). The women's idea of ​​heaven is the exact opposite of what their life on earth is like, which is also true for the four wives. Zulema even illustrates in this tale that the only way for a woman to achieve action in this society is suicide. She adopts it as an act of power, and it is highly symbolic that she then goes to Heaven to have her “perpetually renewed happiness” (249). This highlights how women's suicide here gives more joy and freedom, unlike a life chained to their husbands. It also aims to lay the groundwork for Roxana's suicide. This foreshadows that death by suicide in this era is not something to mourn, but something that could be a gateway to new realms of happiness. While suicide is generally considered a heartbreaking act, this makes it a welcome act of power for women seeking a necessary escape in this society. The greatest source of female power – coming from both the structuring of the novel and the text itself – is found in Roxana's final letter to Usbek as she poisons herself. Following the feminist motifs prevalent in the rest of the novel, this is not suicide, it is sacrifice and an act of rebellion. She manipulated everyone skillfully enough to tell Usbek: “I have suborned your eunuchs, thwarted your jealousy, and succeeded in transforming your terrible seraglio into a place of delicious pleasures” (280). She boasts about his accomplishments and how she undermined his power during his absence. She is akin to civil rights activists and valiant martyrs rather than someone who committed suicide in a frivolous or overly emotional manner, which would probably have been considered a sign of insane weakness during this period. Although committing suicide could be seen as an act of desperation or an attempt to escape from omnipresent power, the fact that she documents her death and writes to Usbek about it speaks volumes, as she blatantly ignores his authority, his efforts and his reign. She acts against the feeling of imprisonment felt by many women at the time: they »..