The Indiscreet Jewels · Chapter
XXXIII: Sixteenth Trial of the Ring explained
Mangogul and Mirzoza host a salon where the petits-maîtres boast of their gallant exploits.
What happens
Mangogul and Mirzoza host a salon where the petits-maîtres boast of their gallant exploits. Mangogul uses the ring to make the Toys of the accused women speak, revealing the truth behind the men's claims. The sultan threatens the liars but spares them at the ladies' request.
Themes in this chapter
Satire of Court and Society
The salon scene mocks the vanity, slander, and hypocrisy of courtiers and petits-maîtres.
Truth vs. Appearance
The ring exposes the lies of the petits-maîtres, contrasting their boasts with the truth revealed by the Toys.
Gender and Sexual Politics
The chapter explores the power dynamics of sexual reputation, with women's honor defended by the ring's revelations.
Characters to notice
- Mangogul
Hosts the salon and uses the ring to expose the petits-maîtres.
- Mirzoza
The favorite who hosts the drawing room and requests the truth from the Toys.
- Hannetillon
A petit-maître who boasts of his affairs and is exposed by the ring.
- Fadaes
A petit-maître who slanders women and is implicated by the Toys.
- Velvet-Paw
The Selictar, accused of corrupting women and introducing a prince into a bath.
- Grifgrif
A petit-maître involved in the gossip about Zirphila and others.
- Alciphenor
An old rake and petit-maître who participates in the slander.
- Marmolin
A young petit-maître who boasts of being named in Zobeida's adventures.
Key passages
“Twice a week the favorite kept a drawing room. The preceding evening she named the women whom she would willingly see, and the Sultan gave the list of the men.”
Mirzoza hosted a salon twice a week, with the guest list decided by her and Mangogul.
Establishes the setting for the chapter's social satire.
“Mangogul had learned early in his life, that pleasures are not to be found above the foot of the throne; and no man descended from it with better grace, or knew how to put off majesty more apropos.”
Mangogul knew that true enjoyment was not found in royal isolation, and he was skilled at setting aside his majesty to mingle with his subjects.
Highlights Mangogul's character and the egalitarian tone of the salon.
“The best past of the affair is, that the affrighted husband ran away with his fingers in his ears.”
The best part of the story is that the terrified husband fled, covering his ears.
Illustrates the comic and scandalous nature of the gossip.
“I must have recourse to the chronological tables of my good fortune. There may be seen the day and minute: but ’tis a large volume, with which my servants amuse themselves in the antechamber.”
I would need to consult my detailed records of romantic conquests, a thick book my servants read for entertainment.
Shows Hannetillon's boastful and absurd self-regard.
“Tremble, wretches.”
Fear for your lives, you scoundrels.
Mangogul's furious response to the petits-maîtres' lies.
