Contemplating the relationship between gender and power, one undoubtedly notices that tradition regards men as the holders of official office and power. Historically, men have also always been the leaders of their family's, and turned to in times of trouble or need. Making generalizations is normally a weak approach to any task; in this case however, it is necessary to do so in order to illustrate how drastically opposite the situations prove in various selections from "1001 Arabian Nights." Rather than men taking critical roles of power, the women characters, especially at crucial moments in the plot, empower themselves far beyond the male figures, and, consequently, prove much more important to their respective plots. The stories offer a different perspective on the gender-power relationship and, consequently, ask readers to reconsider their notions of the traditional relationship between gender and power.

In "Aladdin and the Magic Lamp", Aladdin's character is...