This collection had been formed for a purpose like the present, by Carathis herself; from a persentiment, that she might one day, enjoy some intercourse with the infernal powers: to whom she had ever been passionately attached, and to whose taste she was no stranger. Les Daniels (1975). Living in Fear: A History of Horror in the Mass Media. Da Capo Press, (P. 17). ISBN 0306801930 . Vathek wants to decipher the messages on his new sabers, offers a reward to anyone who can help him, and punishes those who fail. After several scholars fail, one elderly man succeeds: the swords say "We were made where everything is well made; we are the least of the wonders of a place where all is wonderful and deserving, the sight of the first potentate on earth." But the next morning, the message has changed: the sword now says “Woe to the rash mortal who seeks to know that of which he should remain ignorant, and to undertake that which surpasses his power”. The old man flees before Vathek can punish him. However, Vathek realizes that the writing on the swords really did change. Vathek, a symphonic poem written in 1913, composed by Luís de Freitas Branco, was inspired by this novel. [19]

En la novela, el califa Vathek, cuya sed de conocimiento y poder aún más desesperante que los del “Fausto” de Goethe devienen en una obsesión luego de que un mercader recién llegado, cuya cara es tan atroz que los guardias que lo escoltan no lo miran a la cara. Este hace una profecía sobre una cimitarra que le regala a Vathek. Shown Their Work: Vathek is capped off by an extensive series of endnotes. Some of which have footnotes. And one of those footnotes has a footnote of its own. Being much addicted to women and the pleasures of the table, he thought by his affability, to procure agreeable companions; and he succeeded the better as his generosity was unbounded and his indulgencies unrestrained: for he did not think, with the Caliph Omar Ben Abdalaziz, that it was necessary to make a hell of this world to enjoy paradise in the next. Human Sacrifice: Vathek goes so far as to sacrifice fifty children to an evil genie. They are saved by a Genie ex Machina. Pero esta es una de las tantas cosas que se describen aquí. Vathek, que en su ciega ambición ingresa al Palacio, también deberá enfrentar los ataques de su temible madre, Carathis, así también como abjurar su fe en Mahoma y entregarse a los poderes de las tinieblas.Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: The only other living human being Vathek cares about at the start of the book is his mother Carathis. A hideous stranger arrives in town, claiming to be a merchant from India selling precious goods. Vathek buys glowing swords with letters on them from the merchant, and invites the merchant to dinner. When the merchant does not respond to Vathek's questions, Vathek looks at him with his "evil eye," but this has no effect, so Vathek imprisons him. The next day, he discovers that the merchant has escaped and his prison guards are dead. The people begin to call Vathek crazy. His mother, Carathis, tells him that the merchant was “the one talked about in the prophecy”, and Vathek admits that he should have treated the stranger kindly. Nouronihar so attracts Vathek that he plots to seize her by force. Fakreddin, already scandalized by Vathek’s behavior, is informed of the plot. He and his court determine to outwit Vathek. He administers a drug to the young lovers, and when Vathek sees them in their deathlike trance, he is convinced they are dead. Nouronihar and Gulchenrouz are secretly taken to a safe retreat and looked after by Fakreddin’s servants. When the young people awaken they believe that they really died and that they are now in Paradise. Caliph, with a smile that augured nothing of good.“You will have leisure sufficient for your supplications Vathek’ could be dismissed by the modern reader as a rather derivative Arabian Tales fan fiction, but the focus on monsters and demons and evil doers instead of humorous or educative fables paves the way for the rise in prominence of the gothic- romantic school, in particular Lord Byron who held Vathek in high appreciation and wrote his own orientalist poems.

Jinn – according to Middle Eastern mythology, they governed the Earth before humans. They are formed of subtler matter than humans and likewise capable of salvation. [6] (p101) by his father Motassem, whose tower has eleven thousand steps, Vathek has added five new wings, each intended to gratify one of the five senses: the Eternal or Unsatiating Banquet; the Temple of Melody, or the Nectar of the Soul; the Delight of the Eyes, or the Support of Memory; the Palace of Perfumes, also known as the Incentive to Pleasure; and the Retreat of Joy, or the Dangerous. These perfect incarnations of refined sensation cannot, however, prevent his determination to exceed their limits. Fortress of Aherman – a fortress in which demons would gather to receive the commands of their lord. [6] (p116)darkness. There they find all the beautiful and strange wealth they desire. They are given permission to roam through the palace and to enjoy its treasures to their hearts’ content. In the vast domed hall of the palace, they see creatures whose hearts are continually devoured by fire, and they learn that a like fate is to be theirs, for they seek knowledge that no mortal should know. Carathis is more callous and business-like about it then her son, but deliberately sacrifices persons helping her at least once in the tale (when she walks her huntsmen guides to death, and then instead of giving them decent burials, feeds them to ghouls). She also randomly poisons her daughters-in-law and other noblewomen, then heals them with antidotes, as a form of practice. And, of course, in the end she murders her faithful "mute negresses," apparently under the theory that they should not outlive their mistress. When we first meet him, the Caliph is an affable despot, much admired by his subjects for his generosity and much sought by visitors for the splendor of his parties. It all takes a turn for the Dark Side when a stranger comes to Samarah bearing gifts of a magical nature. Make It Look Like an Accident: Carathis and her servants kill all of the palace attendants who try to rescue them from what they believe to be the palace on fire (it is actually one of Carathis’s dark rituals). They then tell Morakanabad after the fact that those people died in the flames. Vathek is in despair. He begs the stranger to return and explain the inscription to him, for he is sure that the letters are the key to the dark kingdom and the riches Vathek hopes to find there. The stranger, who is the Giaour, finally reappears and tells Vathek that only a sacrifice will put the powers in a receptive mood. On a journey with his court, Vathek throws fifty children into a chasm as a sacrifice for the bloodthirsty Giaour. The people are angered by his cruelty and begin to hurl execrations at Vathek, but his guards return him safely to his palace.

If read purely for narrative pleasure, Vathek might disappoint. The plot is episodic, there are too many changes of gear, and the novel's ultimate message - if it does have one - is elusive and unclear. Yet, for anybody interested in early Romanticism, Orientalism, supernatural fiction or, for that matter, unusual literary fare, this is a must-read. Valley of Fakreddin. Refuge that Vathek finds when he is lost in the wilderness en route to the stream of Rocnabad (from which he drank delectably in his youth). Emir Fakreddin’s palace is a stone building with nine domes and nine bronze portals, whose advertised purpose is to offer asylum to pilgrims and safe repose to travelers. Although not as luxurious as the palace of Alkoremmi, it is well appointed. It stands within sight of the domes of Shadukiam and Ambreabad, the abodes of the peries (Persian fairies). The principal symbol of virtue in the text is the group of lofty crags to which the good Genius brings Gulchenrouz and the sacrificed children. La suerte de Vathek está echada y todo esto se condensa en menos de ciento cuarenta páginas, lo cual pocos escritores pueden lograr a la hora de contarnos una poderosa historia.Dolayısıyla okurken benim damağımda özgün bir tat bırakmadı. Kitabın ilk başlarında uyandırdığı merak duygusu yerini giderek sıkıcı bir "bitse artık" a bıraktı. Bu bakımdan kitaptaki her bir olayın ayrı ayrı öyküler halinde yazılmış da birleştirilmiş gibi bir havası var.