58 pages • 1 hour read
MontesquieuPersian Letters
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1721A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Character Analysis
Usbek
Usbek is the older and more experienced of the two Persian noblemen who travel through Turkey and Italy to settle in Paris. Although he claims his sole aim in leaving Persia is to gain more knowledge and learning, we understand that his life is in danger as his uncompromising honesty and dignity have made him many enemies.
It is apparent from his communication with Rustan, Mirza, Ibben, and Rhedi that they consider him a mature man of learning and discerning taste. They often ask his opinion on matters of philosophical nature to which he responds thoughtfully, in an educated, polished style, carefully weighing his arguments in support of his opinions. He also holds his friends in high regard, he and shares his innermost thoughts and ideas with them. With Rustan he is especially close, and in letters addressed to him Usbek shows a darker, more depressive side of his character, one prone to bouts of homesickness, nostalgia, and worry over his affairs in Persia, which he has left to others to care for during his nearly nine years of travel. He treats Rica almost as a younger brother, although he is quite hurt by Rica’s apparent insensitivity to his desire to return to Persia. All Usbek’s wives, except Roxane, show a passionate and devoted affection toward him. They long for him not only as a husband but also as a fair master who knows how to keep his palace in order. He, on the other hand, is restrained in his communication with the women. Although he professes his love for them all, especially and most clearly to Roxane, in letters to Rustan he shows that he has prevented himself from getting too attached to any of the wives, which he considers his duty as a man and master. Toward Roxane, however, he shows an attachment that contains elements of vanity and pride, which prevents him from seeing who she really is. When the women disobey him, he is stern and at times threatening, although by the end of the novel it is shown that he has overestimated his own power and knowledge because Roxane’s betrayal and death comes as an unexpected blow.
Through communication with his slaves, Usbek proves himself a strict and demanding but merciful master, especially when he decides to save his slave Pharan from castration after the slave’s desperate appeal.
Rica
As with Usbek, Montesquieu develops Rica’s character in two major ways: through his own words in letters he sends to various people, and through the words of those who send letters to him. No physical description of how Rica appears or carries himself is given.
Rica is young, intelligent, and curious. He is depicted as a model of health and cheerful disposition, and he is very sociable and witty. Unmarried and unencumbered by the worries associated with keeping a harem of women, Rica is much more interested in the social and cultural aspects of French life. He travels around Paris and enjoys meeting new people, thrilled to be as exotic to them as they are to him.
Rica’s mother suffers greatly when he decides to leave Persia, and his friend Mirza misses him very much, but unlike Usbek, Rica’s decision to travel stems from his desire to see the world and his great sense of adventure. He adjusts to life in Paris much more quickly and easily than Usbek, and he is clearly reluctant to leave Europe.
Rica possesses a lively and sunny character that lends itself to comedy in his letters, although with everything that he witnesses and processes, he is sometimes shown to be disapproving and ironic. Additionally, when he writes to Ibben and his unnamed friend(s), Rica shows his contemplative, pensive side and proves himself capable of grasping more complex ideas.
Usbek’s Wives
Usbek has five wives, and although each of their voices is heard in one or two letters, due to the nature of their existence and their communal life in the seraglio, they can be said to represent a single compound, complex character. Usbek’s wives are Fatmé, Zachi, Zelis, Zephis, and Roxane. Their characters are revealed through letters written in a significantly different style than those written by men. They all share common characteristics: Each wife has a flair for the dramatic, and they all express very strong emotions, positive or negative. They are all jealous of one another, and each thinks the others’ love is faked.
Individually taken, a single differentiating trait characterizes each of the wives. Fatmé is described as a woman of noble birth that separates her from the rest of the wives; this is additionally shown through her status as the mistress of the seraglio. Zachi is fiery and uncompromising, full of nervous energy and very passionate in her expression. Zephis is briefly depicted as angry and accusatory. Zelis is the considerate, calm, and thoughtful wife. Roxane is the wife Usbek loves most, and yet she is his betrayer. She reveals herself as the viper in his bosom, having cheated on him from the start. She remains dignified and unapologetic, however, and dies by her own hand.
Usbek’s Eunuchs and Slaves
Like Usbek’s wives, the eunuchs in charge of the seraglio and the slaves serving under them are presented without many individualizing characteristics. Most of them are not even named, yet as a group they constitute an important character in the text. The eunuchs are the faithful guardians of their master’s wives, the unquestioning executors of their master’s commands, and they suffer the lifelong consequences of one of the most distressing of traumas a man can endure—castration. Hideous to women and ignored by “real” men, they are the terrifying face of a religious practice that aims to ensure their service is not compromised by worldly passions. However, as the head (or chief) eunuch shows, desire is not only of the flesh but much more of the mind and the heart, and their sorrow is vast.
Rhedi
Rhedi is a young nephew of Ibben, Usbek and Rica’s friend from Smyrna. He is a fellow traveler, and his destination of choice is Venice, where he hopes to acquire new knowledge and understanding of the world. He is a frequent addressee of both Usbek and Rica’s missives, although we only read four of his letters.
Rhedi sees himself as an experienced traveler, yet his letters show complaints and misunderstandings of certain characteristics of the Western world, and Usbek must often explain to him how the world does (or should) work. When Rhedi complains about the lack of fresh water in Venice, this has two meanings: one stated, that he is unable to perform the ablutions his religion demands, and the other unstated, which is that like most travelers he fears disease, namely cholera. He also shows this fear when he complains that conquering new lands only brings new diseases to the known world. He similarly believes the sciences of the era are “superstitions” and fears the advances made may ruin the world.
Montesquieu utilizes Rhedi’s character as a foil, which allows Usbek and Rica to educate him and allay his frequently irrational fears.
