Analysis
The definition of monster can uphold many meanings and descriptions, some being action oriented and others being physically oriented. Greed is a monstrous trait that is derived from someone’s mind that turns into an action, or a series of actions as we saw. Essentially, greed is a monstrous trait as it permits someone acting only for themself with no acknowledgement of others.
The bowl that reads the inscription “Livelihood is distributed [by God among people] and greed…”. This relates to the definition above as it contrasts with the idea of greed and how it affects the sole perpetrator and those affected by the perpetrator. When a person is driven by greed, they will do anything within their limits to obtain what they desire. This is seen with Sekander. He kills the Foor, the Lord of India, and goes undercover twice to obtain riches from Queen Qaydafeh in Andalusia, and the Emperor of China. He is taught lessons by both the Queen and the Emperor about his actions and how damaging they are. According to the inscription, God distributes livelihood but it is also distributed by selfish people. God has provided the Queen and the Emperor their respective wealth for their livelihood and understands that they do not need to possess more, which opposes Sekander as he wants to increase his possessions. The artifact and Shahnameh was created in the 10th Century AD, so the values that were written on the pottery, specifically this bowl, may be applied to the stories and morals found in Shahnameh.
Before Sekander reaches the town with the talking trees, he comes across a corpse with “a man’s body, but his head was like that of a boar” (Ferdowsi, 210). A cry from the water tells Sekander that even though he is “still filled with longing and desire”, he should go home and play the fool no more and that his life has shortened and he should go back to his throne (Ferdowsi, 211). Sekander leaves but continues on his journey. When Sekander reaches the talking trees, he is told that he has “seen his share of blessings”, which could mean the world he has traveled, or the wealth he has seen and accumulated (Ferdowsi, 211). They also inform Sekander about his fate and how greed has tormented his soul (Ferdowsi, 212). As mentioned in the text, this is God’s plan.
Given the time period and the popularity of pottery, bowls like this would have been in households and palaces, given that there was a large quantity of sherds found (Hillenbrand, 58).
Jeffery Jerome Cohen sixth thesis is “Fear of the Monster Is Really A Kind of Desire” (Cohen, 16). Cohen describes a monster as such, “The monster is continually linked to forbidden practices, in order to normalize and enforce. The monster also attracts. The same creatures who terrify and interdict can evoke potent escapist fantasies; the linking of monstrosity with the forbidden makes the monster all the more appealing as temporary egress from constraint” (17). This relates to the topic of greed as a monster because greed and possession more than we should is not needed; we live in a consumerist world, where we have to have new objects, just like Sekander. Sekander normalizes possessing as what he was doing did not seem out of the ordinary. He also attracts the reader because he is living in a world where he just takes with no precaution, something we cannot do in modern times.
Sekander was from his throne for a long time, regardless of travel method. Cohen also says “when contained by geographic, generic, or epistemic marginalization, the monster can function as an alter ego, as an alluring project of (an Other) self” (17). Sekander could have returned to the throne, but he traveled the distance from Andalusia (Modern-day Southern Spain) to China, but where he started in the direction of India. Sekander knew that he would not be possessing as much as he desired if he went back to throne, so he remained away from the throne until he died. Due to his greediness, he died with no wife or family with him and was with strangers surrounding him instead (Ferdowsi, 212).
Arestalis, Sekander’s tutor, responds to Sekander’s letter of killing all noblemen. In the letter, he says “Treat each according to his rank and see that their names are listed in your pension rolls ...” (Ferdowsi, 216). This relates to the main artifact because livelihood is being distributed by someone other than God, whereas the artifact said “Livelihood is distributed by [God among people] and greed”. This is almost a turning point for Sekander in the story as he is giving his wealth to others instead of taking it away, which is what the bowl says.