#one of my many 1001N copies has hundreds of notes

[writesailingdreams]

@ladyliliana replied to your post “Is it strange that I can see how Jasmine has a much stronger story?...”

Disney was smart changing the story in their adaptation. I feel the original Aladdin story kinda glorifies greed and he gets things without really working for them        

Sorry this got so long. I wanted to make sure it all made sense. Because I’m me, I delve into the structure of the original tale.

First, while I don’t think Disney made bad changes (though I can see different ways to develop Aladdin’s character), I do see it as a Disneyfied American change. I was percolating on why Aladdin as a character may be hard for a Western American POV to adapt due to the expectation that hardwork or self-discovery make good fortune worth it because the good fortune has been properly earned through one or the other.

Second, I was commenting more on the tale type than the story’s morality. Both The Tinderbox and Cendrillion follow a similar tale type: poor person through magical aid improves their social standing and marries royalty. That said, The Tinderbox (ATU 562) and Aladdin (ATU 561) are both more similar to each other than to Cinderella (ATU 510).

I often see the original tale critiqued because Aladdin doesn’t earn his good fortune and/or it just promotes wish-fulfillment. If I saw people criticizing the solider in The Tinderbox for the same reason, then the former would probably ruffle my feathers less. Because, yeah, that’s fair. Both tales feature wish-fulfillment without any reason. 

(I personally find the soldier more despicable than Aladdin since the former kills the old woman who leads him to the tinderbox and forces the princess to marry him through force. Aladdin doesn’t kill the magician until after the princess is kidnapped and the lamp stolen; Aladdin only forces the Emperor to keep his promise that Aladdin can marry the princess and does so less with direct supernatural threat and more with covert supernatural intervention.)

Third, as regards the morality of the original, I’m not sure I completely agree. 

Though I can see where the argument comes from, I’ve never been able to see the original tale as being about greed. Incomparable luck, sure. Or maybe, story-wise, a lazy boy who’s experiences give him good fortune and lead him to at least learn certain things, such as becoming more knowledgeable about gems and not relying on the lamp to do everything for him. 

I mean, the basic story is: 1) Aladdin gets lamp from cave. 2) Marries the princess. 3) Lamp is stolen. 4) Gets lamp back (with help from the princess and poison). 5) Someone comes to kill Aladdin. 6) He tricks this person and lives. With various details interspersed between, such as: increased knowledge of gems after almost dying in the cave, an anti-Semitic bit with a Jewish merchant swindling Aladdin that can happily be cut out, and Aladdin as a war hero

Though, based on my extensive analysis, the story and its many conflicts and resolutions—with time-skips between each—makes better sense like this:

Conflict 1: Getting the lamp

Conflict 2: Getting swindled

Conflict 3: Marrying the Princess

mini-Time-skip: Aladdin becomes a war hero*

Conflict 4: Losing the lamp and regaining it

Conflict 5: Escaping a revenge murder

The whole final conflict is usually ignored and to me it’s one of the most important parts. It’s the only time the genie refuses Aladdin’s request and therefore he has to deal with a threat to his life on his own.

Because of this, maybe I read it more as a boy who gets lucky and grows from the experience, due to lost and the threat of death than greed and getting good fortune for nothing. 

Or at the very least, if asked to create my own version I would have to include:

gem fruit in an underground orchard

a war

poison

someone comes to kill Aladdin for revenge and he has to escape it without the genie’s help

maybe Aladdin almost gets killed by the princess’ father?

Meaning, the important aspects of the tale for me are its visual wonder, its characters using ruses to defeat antagonists, and its potential for undercurrent character growth. Of the three, Disney only used the second aspect.

For me, Aladdin doesn’t have to earn the lamp by hard work or showing good character; he doesn’t have to earn it all because it’s just luck. The interesting parts of the story are him dealing with the consequences, whether almost being executed or having someone come to murder him.

*I make note of this because it’s the only time-skip that is summarized; the others just say “several years” “a few years” etc.