Producing both beneficial and harmful outcomes, curiosity seems both a vice and virtue in The Arabian Nights, specifically in "The Third Dervish's Tale". Its effects are contradictory, which produces an ambiguity around the nature of curiosity. This ambiguity reflects the theme of Fate versus free will by creating situations that lead to questions, specifically, "How much of one's life is controlled by destiny and how much is controlled by choice?" but this question is answered …
showed first 75 words of 1694 total

showed last 75 words of 1694 total
…of predestination or choice. Thus, analyses of these situations conclude with two unanswered questions: "Is curiosity good or bad?" and "When is one's life controlled by Fate and when is it controlled by free will?" The fact that these are unanswered indicates the inadequate intellectual capacity of humans; neither the dervish nor the reader can answer these questions because curiosity, Fate, and free will are abstractions that require a comprehension above the abilities of humans.