Susan Fletcher's Shadow Spinner

Author Susan Fletcher once wrote, “Shahrazad’s women stood at the door, the women who prepared her for her nights with the Sultan. ‘Go, Marjan,’ Shahrazad said softly. ‘I have the tale here.’ She tapped her temple. ‘I’ll see you in the morning.’ I only hoped that she would” (Fletcher 109). This quote by Fletcher shows how Shahrazad was a brave and confident woman, which is one of the values in the story. The title of the book is Shadow Spinner, by author Susan Fletcher. Shadow Spinner is a historical fiction novel about a girl’s life in Persia. The girl’s name is Marjan, and she gets thrown into a scary world of sneaking outside the harem, telling stories, and getting into trouble. This story is both historically accurate and inaccurate, shown
For example, in the novel, the bazaar is described as “merchants crying their wares; street musicians playing horns and lutes and drums; mule drivers cursing; women haggling; caged birds screeching; brass workers’ mallets pinging and clanging and bonging. Smells drifted past: sawdust, perfume, leather, dye, feathers, manure-all mingled with the ever-present odor of sweat” (Fletcher 81-82). The bazaar is described as a very busy place, constantly full of people trading goods. As well as that, it was a place for religious and social circles to unite. In the book Daily Life in Ancient and Modern Baghdad, author Dawn Kotapish writes “Merchants brought their goods to Baghdad’s crowded, noisy suqs (another word for a bazaar). Small, windowless stores opened onto narrow, crowded streets full of busy traders and shoppers. The suqs were divided up into areas that sold specific items. Merchants sold rice, grain, linen, silks, pearls, weapons, perfumes, dates, fruits and vegetables, glass, and mirrors. Shoppers could be sure of a good bargain with competitors sitting side by side. Merchants often offered their customers stools upon which to sit while examining goods and bargaining” (Kotapish 13). In this sense, the fictional novel is accurate because both texts describe the ancient bazaars as a crowded place that sold many wares. Although Fletcher gives the bazaar a much more hectic setting, it can be easily
For example, on page 209, Fletcher writes, “His Royal Magnificence, Shahryar, wishes to invite all of his subjects to the celebration of his marriage to his beloved queen, Shahrazad” (Fletcher 209). This quote shows how after marriages, there were usually large celebrations for the kings and queens. Rice University students Ehsan Aryafar and Mehrdad Majzoobi wrote, "The second stage is "Jashn-e Aroosi", the wedding reception - the actual feasts and the celebrations, which traditionally lasted from 3 to 7 days" (Aryafar and Majzoobi). This proves that Fletcher’s writing about celebrations after marriage were part of the culture, and that it was historically accurate. Aryafar and Majzoobi also wrote, “The legal process of getting married, when both the bride and bridegroom and their guardians sign a marriage contract” (Aryafar and Majzoobi). This shows how the Sultan probably married his wives and went through all of the marriage rituals one day and then the next one he killed his wife. Some historians may argue this, however I believe that since the Sultan killed his wife every day, that he had no time for a proper celebration, and therefore only went through the first part of his marriage. This shows how marriage plays a big role in the novel, as well as their