The Indiscreet Jewels · Chapter
VIII: Third Trial of the Ring explained
At a private supper, Mangogul uses the ring to expose the secret desires of women, beginning with Husseim's wife, whose Toy reveals her affairs with Valanto and a Bramin.
What happens
At a private supper, Mangogul uses the ring to expose the secret desires of women, beginning with Husseim's wife, whose Toy reveals her affairs with Valanto and a Bramin. Husseim initially reacts with fury but eventually laughs, though he later confines his wife to a house of veiled maidens. Mangogul visits the convent and uses the ring on the inmates, uncovering the hypocrisies of the supposedly virtuous women, including a novice named Flora.
Themes in this chapter
Satire of Court and Society
The private supper and the ring's revelations mock the pretensions and hidden desires of the courtly and religious elite.
Truth vs. Appearance
The ring forces the Toys to speak the truth, contrasting the women's public modesty with their private desires.
Gender and Sexual Politics
The chapter explores the double standards and power dynamics between men and women, as Husseim punishes his wife while the Sultan orchestrates the exposures.
Characters to notice
- Mangogul
Hosts the supper and uses the ring to expose the women's secrets.
- Mirzoza
Defends women's honor and argues against the ring's tests.
- Husseim
Husband whose wife's Toy reveals her infidelity; he confines her to a convent.
- Monima
Mentioned as the subject of initial teasing about her Toy.
- Zelmaida
Compared to Monima in the conversation about gallantry.
- Flora
A novice whose Toy reveals her attraction to a young officer.
Key passages
“I do not pretend, that Monima is less gallant than Zelmaida; but I believe her Toy has more discretion.”
Mangogul suggests that Monima's Toy is more discreet than Zelmaida's, implying that silence is a virtue.
Mangogul defends Monima by praising her Toy's discretion.
“Oh, how I am harrassed! I can bear it no longer, I am at death's door.”
The Toy of Husseim's wife complains of being exhausted by her lover Valanto.
The Toy's first words reveal the wife's illicit affair.
“Valanto's young page would suit me pretty well: but I know not when he will begin.”
The Toy expresses a desire for Valanto's page, showing her ongoing infidelity.
The Toy continues to expose the wife's multiple affairs.
“Flora, said her Toy, has more than once ogled a young officer through the grate.”
The Toy of the novice Flora reveals that she has flirted with a soldier through the convent grate.
The ring exposes the hidden desires of a young nun.