Once again, a wife is represented as disloyal to her husband. Even though he is very mad about this betrayal he does not kill her immediately. He decided to leave his state, asking his brother to come along, to "find one whose misfortune is greater than" theirs (Thousand and One Nights 1573). Only after finding such a person he is willing to return to his palace. This is another moment where the strength and the ego of men have to be rebuild, which is possible if they realize there is worth in the world.
On their journey they meet a demon that, as they find out, shares their fate. His wife is portrayed as not faithful to her husband, just like the spouses of the kings. When Shahrayar recognized the demons" situation he feels sorry for him. Returning to his royal state he says, "there is not a single chaste woman anywhere on the entire face of the earth" (Thousand and One Nights 1575). Now King Shahrayar vows never to be betrayed again by a woman. He believes that trusting a woman contains the danger of getting hurt, dishonored and humiliated.
The promise "to marry for one night only and kill the woman the next morning" is supposed to prevent him "from the wickedness and cunning of women" (Thousand and One Nights 1575). According to the Koran the females have to obey the men who own them. The poor virgins have to suffer and give their lives and no one is allowed to speak up or even doubt the Kings decision. For years he is going mad; the girls are victims of his power as king and man. He has the power to control them. The females in the Prologue of the Thousand and One Nights are portrayed as weak and second rated, below the status of men. This value is presented in the Koran as follows: "Men have authority over women because God has made the one superior to the other, and because they spend their wealth to maintain them" (Koran1431, 1432). The King chooses brutality and murder to make up for his suffering caused by the betrayal of his wife.