The Arabian Nights Curiosity, Fate, and Free Will on the Limitations of Humanity

Producing both beneficial and harmful outcomes, curiosity seems both a vice and virtue in The Arabian Nights, specifically in "The Third Dervish's Tale". Its effects are contradictory, which produces an ambiguity around the nature of curiosity. This ambiguity reflects the theme of Fate versus free will by creating situations that lead to questions, specifically, "How much of one's life is controlled by destiny and how much is controlled by choice?" but this question is answered by more ambiguity. Even though the answer is indeterminate, its implication is significant: humanity is incapa…