The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was Speedy keep This article concerns an important literary character and narrative device. A strange choice to mention Moby Dick, as Ishmael, the narrator of that novel, also has his own article here. Their respective novels are important in the literary Canon for the English language on numerous levels - construction, morality, philosophy, a reflection of the times in which they were authored, etc. To say that Scheherazade is merely a passive voice is to misunderstand her function, both in terms of the novel and the evolution of literary expression - Tom Jones and Tristram Shandy to name but two later novels that experimented with the narrative voice. The article can be expanded with a little research. WP:SNOW refers to this closure. The two remaining articles can be independently nominated. (aeropagitica) 23:28, 20 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Scheherazade[edit]

Scheherazade (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)

I know that the well read people are going to throw their hands up in the air and say "if characters like Harry Potter and Captain Kirk can have pages of their own why not a literary giant like Scheherazade", well please don't do an automatic keep, read my arguments before voting.

The page is very small in comparison to other heroines like Medea and this is for a very good reason; Scheherazade is a part of the frame story and so doesn't have an active part in the stories so there is very little to say about her, other than she gets married, tells stories for 1001 nights and then lives happily ever after, the end. Unlike Harry Potter and Captain Kirk and Medea, Scheherazade's character is not flushed out, she's only there to allow movment from one story to the next, which she does with very few words. The page itself is unreferenced and all the information on it is already or could be easily put on The Thousand and One Nights. Captain Ahab, from Moby Dick, is far more influential on his story than Scheherazade is on her's, but he doesn't have a page of his own, only a subheading on the book's page and I think the same should be done with Scheherazade. I have also nominated Shahryar and Dunyazad for the same reasons. Hera1187 18:10, 20 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I am also nominating the following related as the same argument applies to them only to a greater extent:

• Shahryar
• Dunyazad

• Keep Scheherazade - I appreciate your reasoning, but this character is a cultural icon no matter the relative size of her actual role in the literature she is known for. Editors should be encouraged to improve the article. --Dmz5 18:47, 20 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]
• Merge the other two into The Book of One Thousand and One Nights.--Dmz5 18:49, 20 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]
• Keep Poor quality or stubbiness of the article is not a reason to delete. One of the most famous characters in the history of literature. The idea that we would include Sinbad or Ali Baba but not their narrator is unreasonable. Fan-1967 18:51, 20 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]
• Keep. Scheherazade still occupies a central place in this literature, even if it is not extensive. The other two might be merged, although frankly, don't think they need to be, either. Heimstern Läufer 19:03, 20 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

To continue with the Moby Dick example, neither Tashtego nor Dagoo have articles; I don't know if one can argue that Shahryar and Dunyazad are significant enough to warrant their own articles, but merging them into the book's might be a way to improve the latter by expanding its coverage. I might also argue that Ahab does deserve his own article, but I'm not gonna do it.--Dmz5 19:13, 20 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

• Strong keep. Room for improvement, but that alone is no argument for deletion, particularly when the subject is such a major literary icon. Keep also on the other two articles, although I am less convinced with those. Ford MF 19:17, 20 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]
• Strong Keep She's far too important a character to world culture to not have an article in this encyclopedia, being depicted and studied in many art forms, from Rimsky-Korsakov's Symphonic Suite to [Marc Chagall's portrait]. Character articles (as opposed to literary works) are justified by the effect of the character beyond the scope of the original work, and this character is a prime example of that. This is a valuable subject that should be expanded upon, not deleted -Markeer 19:18, 20 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]
• Strong Keep - she is one of the most recognizable figures in literature. Nominator, plz do take a look at WP:SNOW, it may apply here.Bakaman 19:34, 20 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Fair point re: WP:SNOW - it does seem rather unlikely that many users will agree with this nomination. Can we unbundle the other two minor characters and have a new thread about them? That seems likely to generate discussion.--Dmz5 19:52, 20 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

• Keep- nomination admits her notability. Problems in the article can be fixed by editing. Ramsquire ^{(throw me a line)} 19:50, 20 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]
• Strong and Speedy Keep. She has a page on Encyclopedia Britannica, if she is good enough for that why not Wikipedia? Philip Stevens 19:58, 20 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]
• Speedy keep One of the most famous characters in world fiction. --Folantin 20:15, 20 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]
• Strong and speedy keep. Frankly, this nomination seems to have a bit of WP:POINT about it, though I am not privy to any controversies that might have prompted it. Scheherazade, like Hammurabi or Semiramis, is an important cultural figure even if we don't know much about their biographies. It may well be that the sister and the sultan ought to be merged into this article, but there are ways to do that short of AfD as well. - Smerdis of Tlön 20:19, 20 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]
• Speedy Keep The article is definitely notable enough to be kept. Hello32020 21:56, 20 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]
• Keep Keep her article, merge the other 2 into the article on the book. Famous character, subject of everything from classical music to Disney cartoons. Edison 22:06, 20 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.