--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An interesting example is that the worst…" description: "\"An interesting example is that the worst woman in the book, who is so cruel and violent, is the sorceress in \"The Prince of the Black Islands.\" She's a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f62/marina-warner-10971_afternoon_an-interesting-example-is-that-the-worst_1885652.jpg" --- # An interesting example is that the worst woman in the… ![“An interesting example is that the worst woman in the book, who is so cruel and violent, is the sorceress in "The Prince of the Black Islands." She's a beautiful young woman, and she has turned her husband into stone from the waist down. A traveling sultan finds him, in his dreadful state, and the…” quote by Marina Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f62/marina-warner-10971_afternoon_an-interesting-example-is-that-the-worst_1885652.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f62/marina-warner-10971_afternoon_an-interesting-example-is-that-the-worst_1885652.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f62/marina-warner-10971_afternoon_an-interesting-example-is-that-the-worst_1885652.jpg) > “An interesting example is that the worst woman in the book, who is so cruel and violent, is the sorceress in "The Prince of the Black Islands." She's a beautiful young woman, and she has turned her husband into stone from the waist down. A traveling sultan finds him, in his dreadful state, and the man petrified from the waist down tells his sad story...how his wife comes every afternoon and beats him until the blood runs down. She's just unwontedly, arbitrarily cruel.” [Marina Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-warner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A cruel sorceress turns her husband to stone, and he suffers daily abuse from his wife while immobilized. **In simple terms:** A woman uses magic to imprison her husband and then beats him. Key Takeaway Recognize and resist abusive power, even when hidden behind beauty. Themes abuse power magic gender violence Mood anguish anger sympathy Type cautionary dramatic When to use this quote - marriage counseling - legal protection - support groups - awareness campaigns Key Concepts mythology domestic oppression transformative magic Questions to Reflect On - How does power enable cruelty? - What can victims do when trapped? A Different Perspective The story may be fictional, limiting its direct applicability to real‑world solutions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Husband](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/husband/) [Islands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/islands/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Sorceress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorceress/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Violent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violent/) [Wife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wife/) [Young woman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-woman/) [Young women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-women/) ## Related quotes > [I think the worst woman that ever existed would have made a man of very passable reputation - they are all better than us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/i-think-the-worst-woman-that-ever-existed-would-have-made-a-man-of/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [Scheherazade, of course, was always in the back of my mind, because she's also a storyteller identified as female who tells a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-warner/scheherazade-of-course-was-always-in-the-back-of-my-mind-because-she/) [Marina Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-warner/) > [Sometimes in my life I feel like a bit of a sorceress who can't totally control all their power. I'm a Libra, so... Libra…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-thirlby/sometimes-in-my-life-i-feel-like-a-bit-of-a-sorceress-who-can-t/) [Olivia Thirlby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-thirlby/) > [... art approaches as a saving sorceress, expert at healing. She alone knows how to turn these nauseous thoughts about the horror or absurdity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/art-approaches-as-a-saving-sorceress-expert-at-healing-she-alone/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“She was sorceress on paper, a goddess in her mind but a mere peasant to everyone living in her present times.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-tyrone-jones/she-was-sorceress-on-paper-a-goddess-in-her-mind-but-a-mere-peasant/) [Curtis Tyrone Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-tyrone-jones/) > [“I find that by some unfortunate chance I continue to want you, you jade-eyed sorceress with your wanton gold body and your calculating little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosemary-rogers/i-find-that-by-some-unfortunate-chance-i-continue-to-want-you-you/) [Rosemary Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosemary-rogers/) > [“I was beyond Ice Princess. I was Sorceress of the Antarctic and a bitchy one at that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-ashley/i-was-beyond-ice-princess-i-was-sorceress-of-the-antarctic-and-a/) [Kristen Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-ashley/) > [You are welcome, most noble Sorceress, to the land of the Munchkins. We are so grateful to you for having killed the Wicked Witch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-frank-baum/you-are-welcome-most-noble-sorceress-to-the-land-of-the-munchkins-we/) [L. Frank Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-frank-baum/) > [“You are a sorceress.” In that moment, he was an innocent lad chasing after his first bit of skirt, desire and excitement and something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-maclean/you-are-a-sorceress-in-that-moment-he-was-an-innocent-lad-chasing/) [Sarah MacLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-maclean/) > [“Vida Winter's appearance was not calculated for concealment. She was an ancient queen, sorceress or goddess. Her stiff figure rose regally out of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/vida-winter-s-appearance-was-not-calculated-for-concealment-she-was/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [“The old sorceress was not given to berating herself herself, but she could not help but think she had made a mistake. Possibly the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-french/the-old-sorceress-was-not-given-to-berating-herself-herself-but-she/) [Vivian French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-french/) > [A good cook is like a sorceress who dispenses happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elsa-schiaparelli/a-good-cook-is-like-a-sorceress-who-dispenses-happiness/) [Elsa Schiaparelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elsa-schiaparelli/) > [“We all know the story. We heard it not long after the Night of Fire and Wind. You were the low born library girl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elise-kova/we-all-know-the-story-we-heard-it-not-long-after-the-night-of-fire/) [Elise Kova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elise-kova/) > [I never deal in transformations, for they are not honest, and no respectable sorceress likes to make things appear to be what they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-frank-baum/i-never-deal-in-transformations-for-they-are-not-honest-and-no/) [L. Frank Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-frank-baum/) > [I see cities as organisms, as living creatures. To me Madrid is a man and Barcelona is a woman. And it's a woman who's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/i-see-cities-as-organisms-as-living-creatures-to-me-madrid-is-a-man/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) ## More by Marina Warner > [“Ectoplasm is shapeless, it is “informe,” a kind of primordial paste—and to show itself as this, it annexes semiotic markers that designate intermediate spirit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-warner/ectoplasm-is-shapeless-it-is-informe-a-kind-of-primordial-paste-and/) [Marina Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-warner/) > [I am not a great believer in dialectical struggle. I am much more of a fusion person. I see it as a dialogue, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-warner/i-am-not-a-great-believer-in-dialectical-struggle-i-am-much-more-of-a/) [Marina Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-warner/) > [I was brought up a Catholic and I was quite fervent, because I was sent to a convent school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-warner/i-was-brought-up-a-catholic-and-i-was-quite-fervent-because-i-was/) [Marina Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-warner/) > [The female form provides the solution in which the essence itself is held; she is passio, and acted upon, the male is actio, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-warner/the-female-form-provides-the-solution-in-which-the-essence-itself-is/) [Marina Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-warner/) > [Love can make you turn on yourself, and it can do harmful things to you. It's a deep lesson in human psychology, as with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-warner/love-can-make-you-turn-on-yourself-and-it-can-do-harmful-things-to/) [Marina Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-warner/) > [There is a theory, that I rather subscribe to. The frame story implies that if he doesn't change, she will kill him. It's all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-warner/there-is-a-theory-that-i-rather-subscribe-to-the-frame-story-implies/) [Marina Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-warner/) > [Creating simplicity often makes the heart leap; order has been restored, the crooked made straight. But order is understanding that things cannot be made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-warner/creating-simplicity-often-makes-the-heart-leap-order-has-been/) [Marina Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-warner/) > [I avoid looking in the mirror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-warner/i-avoid-looking-in-the-mirror/) [Marina Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-warner/) > [The other thing about the Nights is that it is quite racist. One parentheses is that I think this is one of the negative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-warner/the-other-thing-about-the-nights-is-that-it-is-quite-racist-one/) [Marina Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-warner/) > [The tales are quite hard to remember and I found that going back to it between bouts of writing fiction, I was having to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-warner/the-tales-are-quite-hard-to-remember-and-i-found-that-going-back-to/) [Marina Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-warner/) > [One of the metaphors of the book is the carpet. Not just the flying carpet, but the carpet as a woven surface in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-warner/one-of-the-metaphors-of-the-book-is-the-carpet-not-just-the-flying/) [Marina Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-warner/) > [The more one knows fairy tales the less fantastical they appear; they can be vehicles of the grimmest realism, expressing hope against all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-warner/the-more-one-knows-fairy-tales-the-less-fantastical-they-appear-they/) [Marina Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-warner/) > [If you want to learn about a culture, you look at what buildings the people lived in but you also want to know about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-warner/if-you-want-to-learn-about-a-culture-you-look-at-what-buildings-the/) [Marina Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-warner/) > [I love titles and organizing chains of ideas. I like that very much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-warner/i-love-titles-and-organizing-chains-of-ideas-i-like-that-very-much/) [Marina Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-warner/) > [For example, John Law's Mississippi Company venture printed shares, and the money had gone up in smoke when it had been inscribed objects. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-warner/for-example-john-law-s-mississippi-company-venture-printed-shares-and/) [Marina Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-warner/) [Explore all 62 Marina Warner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-warner/) ## More Afternoon quotes > [I didn't grow up thinking of movies as film, or art, but as movies, something to do on a Saturday afternoon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-pollack/i-didn-t-grow-up-thinking-of-movies-as-film-or-art-but-as-movies/) [Sydney Pollack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-pollack/) > [My dental hygienist is cute. Every time I visit, I eat a whole package of Oreo cookies while waiting in the lobby. Sometimes she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/my-dental-hygienist-is-cute-every-time-i-visit-i-eat-a-whole-package/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [Honestly, I'm living my fantasy. It's being with my family, preferably on a snowy afternoon with a fire going, cuddled up in blankets, playing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meredith-vieira/honestly-i-m-living-my-fantasy-it-s-being-with-my-family-preferably/) [Meredith Vieira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meredith-vieira/) > [It was a very intense and stressful situation. There was playing in the Johnny-pump (an opened fire hydrant) and the ice-cream man coming around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-z/it-was-a-very-intense-and-stressful-situation-there-was-playing-in/) [Jay-Z](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-z/) > [Sunday afternoon is for papers and writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-haslam/sunday-afternoon-is-for-papers-and-writing/) [Nicholas Haslam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-haslam/) > [I think that if most guys in America could somehow get their fave-rave poster girl in bed and have total license to do whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-bangs/i-think-that-if-most-guys-in-america-could-somehow-get-their-fave/) [Lester Bangs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-bangs/) > [“If you come at four in the afternoon, I'll begin to be happy by three.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/if-you-come-at-four-in-the-afternoon-i-ll-begin-to-be-happy-by-three/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [At five in the afternoon. It was exactly five in the afternoon. A boy brought the white sheet at five in the afternoon. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/at-five-in-the-afternoon-it-was-exactly-five-in-the-afternoon-a-boy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The shadows in the early morning don't tell much. The shadows rest at that time. So it's useless to gaze very early in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-castaneda/the-shadows-in-the-early-morning-don-t-tell-much-the-shadows-rest-at/) [Carlos Castaneda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-castaneda/) > [“I discovered windows one afternoon and after that, nothing was ever the same.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-spollen/i-discovered-windows-one-afternoon-and-after-that-nothing-was-ever/) [Anne Spollen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-spollen/) > [Look, science is hard, it has a reputation of being hard, and the facts are, it is hard, and that's the result of 400…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/look-science-is-hard-it-has-a-reputation-of-being-hard-and-the-facts/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [What'll we do with ourselves this afternoon? And the day after that, and the next thirty years?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/what-ll-we-do-with-ourselves-this-afternoon-and-the-day-after-that/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Imagine you are walking down a leafy path…The sun is receding, and you are walking alone, caressed by the breezy light of the late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/imagine-you-are-walking-down-a-leafy-path-the-sun-is-receding-and-you/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [A good umpire is the umpire you don't even notice. He's there all afternoon but when the game is over, you don't even remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ban-johnson/a-good-umpire-is-the-umpire-you-don-t-even-notice-he-s-there-all/) Ban Johnson > [Sometimes in the afternoon sky the moon would pass white as a cloud, furtive, lusterless, like an actress who does not have to perform…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/sometimes-in-the-afternoon-sky-the-moon-would-pass-white-as-a-cloud/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) Browse all 1,085 Afternoon quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "An interesting example is that the worst woman in the book, who is so cruel and violent, is the sorceress in \"The Prince of the Black Islands.\" She's a beautiful young woman, and she has turned her husband into stone from the waist down. 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