Persian Letters

Usbek writes to his friend Rustan in their home city of Ispahan, Persia, that his young friend Rica and he have decided to travel in search of new knowledge and wisdom, believing they should learn more about the world than the ways of the Orient. He asks for word on what others think of this voyage. In a letter to the black eunuch who guards his harem, Usbek reminds him of his duties to “both command and obey” (5) the women living in Usbek’s seraglio. He urges the eunuch never to forget the great service that Usbek did for him when he chose him to be his head eunuch. Zachi, one of Usbek’s wives, writes a passionate letter declaring her sorrow at Usbek’s departure. She talks of a famous quarrel between his wives about which one was the prettiest and most seductive, reminding him that “victory was for me alone” (6). She expresses bitter dissatisfaction that he has abandoned her to travel “through savage lands” (7). Another wife, Zephis, claims that the black eunuch wants to take away her slave Zelide, and that she is under constant attack from “that black fiend” (7).