Persian Letters Literary Elements

Epistolary novel

Isfahan, Persia; Paris, France; and several points in between. 1711.

Each letter is written in the first person singular, however the point of view is of the author of the letter. Most of the letters are written by or to Usbek, the elder of the two Persians, however some are written by Usbek's wives, by the various Eunuchs who serve him, by Rica (the younger Persian nobleman), or by other correspondents who know Usbek or Rica.

The tone of each letter is different. Usbek is meditative, contemplative, or internally conflicted except when he speaks to his wives, whom he patronizes and lectures. Rica is sarcastic.

Usbek and Rica are the protagonists; a corrupt Shah in Isfahan is the antagonist whose anger caused Usbek to flee.

This is a "fish out of water" story wherein the biggest conflict is between the two Persians and the new, unfamiliar French culture.

The climax of the novel is when order in the seraglio deteriorates to the point where Usbek's wives rebel against him in absentia.

Usbek's letters to his wives, lecturing the older two but unjustly praising Roxana, foreshadow the rebellion in the seraglio.

The opera-dancer appeals to Rica for his protection, which she needs because at some point during a 24-hour period she became seven or eight months pregnant.

There are frequent references to the Christian Bible and to the Qur'an.

Usbek is fascinated by female faces, which in his culture of origin are forbidden to all except the women's relatives.

Usbek believes that complete human freedom will result in anarchy and he believes that benevolent leadership and active repression of women promotes social order. Yet in his own household, the seraglio deteriorates into anarchy as a direct result of the repression and lack of freedom.

The story of the Troglodites, who progress from anarchy to prosperity, inversely parallels the deteriorating conditions in the seraglio which begins as a stable, prosperous place but deteriorates into anarchy.

The people living in the seraglio -- Usbek's wives, his eunuchs, and his female slaves or concubines -- are described collectively as "the seraglio". "The seraglio is in disorder."

The man who is seeking the Philosopher's Stone personifies the credulous, medieval way of thinking which is gradually fading from the public mindset.