batch.motif.islamicate-folklore-arabian-nights-lang-gutenberg-l8934-l9035
---
record_id: batch.motif.islamicate-folklore-arabian-nights-lang-gutenberg-l8934-l9035
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamicate-folklore/project-gutenberg/arabian-nights-lang.md
passage_locator:
label: The Arabian Nights Entertainments; lines 8934-9035
start: '8934'
end: '9035'
translation: The Arabian Nights Entertainments
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: A husband secretly follows Amina at night to a cemetery, where he sees
her join a female ghoul and eat from a newly buried corpse. After he later alludes
to corpse-flesh at dinner, Amina realizes he has spied on her, uses water and
spoken words to transform him into a dog, beats him, and pursues him until he
escapes into the street and takes refuge in a cookshop.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The narrator follows Amina at night after she leaves the house and keeps her
in sight by moonlight.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Amina enters a cemetery near the house.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The narrator sees Amina in company with a hideous female ghoul.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The passage describes ghouls as demons that eat unwary travelers and, failing
living prey, feed on dead bodies in cemeteries.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: Amina and the ghoul dig up a corpse buried that day, sit by the grave, eat,
and then replace the body and earth.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: At dinner, Amina eats only a few grains of rice as usual.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: The narrator asks whether some dishes are as sweet as corpse-flesh, revealing
that he knows of the cemetery scene.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: Amina reacts with extreme rage when she understands that the narrator followed
her to the graveyard.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: Amina takes a vessel of water, puts her hand in it, murmurs words, sprinkles
water on the narrator's face, and commands him to become a dog.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: The narrator becomes aware that he has ceased to be a man and has become a
dog.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:11
text: Amina beats the transformed narrator with a stick and pursues him into the
courtyard.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:12
text: Amina opens the street gate intending to crush the narrator as he passes,
but he escapes with only the tip of his tail squeezed.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:13
text: Other dogs attack the narrator in the street, and he takes refuge in a cookshop
where tongues and sheep's heads are sold.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:14
text: The cookshop owner first drives away the other dogs but later tries to force
the narrator out because he regards dogs as unclean.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Narrator husband
description: Amina's husband, who follows her, witnesses the cemetery meal, confronts
her indirectly, is transformed into a dog, and escapes.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:5
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Amina
description: The narrator's wife, who goes to the cemetery with a ghoul, eats from
a corpse, and later uses water and words to transform the narrator into a dog.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Female ghoul
description: A hideous female ghoul accompanying Amina in the cemetery and sharing
the corpse-meal.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Cookshop owner
description: The owner of the cookshop where the transformed narrator takes refuge;
he first protects him from other dogs and then tries to expel him.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Other dogs
description: Dogs in the street that attack the narrator after his transformation.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
roles:
- id: role:1
label: secret watcher
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The narrator hides near the cemetery wall and observes Amina and the ghoul
without being noticed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: role:2
label: wife with hidden nocturnal conduct
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Amina leaves secretly at night, goes to the cemetery, and later returns quietly
to bed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: role:3
label: corpse-eater
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:3
basis: Amina and the ghoul dig up a newly buried corpse and eat from it at the grave.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: magical transformer and punisher
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Amina uses water, spoken words, and a command to turn the narrator into a
dog, then beats and pursues him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: role:5
label: victim of transformation
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The narrator is changed from a man into a dog after Amina's spell.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:6
label: fugitive animal-form human
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: After becoming a dog, the narrator flees Amina, escapes through the gate,
and seeks shelter in a cookshop.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: role:7
label: temporary protector and expeller
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The cookshop owner drives away attacking dogs but later tries to force the
narrator back into the street.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:8
label: street attackers
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The other dogs attack the transformed narrator in the street.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: cemetery
literal_form: A cemetery near the house, entered at night by Amina and the ghoul.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: grave and corpse
literal_form: A newly buried corpse dug up from its grave and eaten, then returned
to the grave.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: water used for spell
literal_form: A vessel of water into which Amina plunges her hand before sprinkling
the narrator's face.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: sym:4
label: dog form
literal_form: The animal form imposed on the narrator by Amina's command.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: sym:5
label: street gate
literal_form: The gate Amina opens while intending to crush the transformed narrator
as he passes through.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:6
label: cookshop refuge
literal_form: A cookshop selling tongues and sheep's heads where the dog-formed
narrator hides in a dark corner.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Nocturnal surveillance and cemetery discovery
summary: The narrator follows Amina by moonlight, hides near a cemetery wall, and
sees her meet a female ghoul.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Corpse-meal at the grave
summary: Amina and the ghoul dig up a newly buried corpse, eat at the edge of the
grave, and then restore the body and earth.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Dinner confrontation
summary: At dinner the narrator remarks on corpse-flesh, causing Amina to realize
that he has witnessed her graveyard activity.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Magical transformation into a dog
summary: In rage, Amina uses water and spoken words to transform the narrator into
a dog and then beats him with a stick.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:5
label: Escape through the gate and refuge in a cookshop
summary: The dog-formed narrator escapes Amina's attempt to crush him at the gate,
is attacked by other dogs, and hides in a cookshop whose owner first protects
and then rejects him.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: spouse secretly followed to a nocturnal graveyard rite
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The narrator follows Amina at night, conceals himself, and sees her meet
a ghoul in a cemetery.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: The passage describes a specific episode of spying and discovery; no broader
tradition is named in the passage.
- id: motif:2
label: wife revealed as corpse-eater or companion of a ghoul
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Amina accompanies a female ghoul, digs up a newly buried corpse, and eats
at the grave.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: The passage states Amina was with a ghoul and ate the corpse, but it does
not explicitly call Amina herself a ghoul.
- id: motif:3
label: punishment for prying into hidden conduct
taxonomy_refs:
- forbidden_knowledge
basis: Amina understands the narrator has followed her and says, 'receive the reward
of your prying,' before transforming him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy link is interpretive; the passage frames the offense as prying
rather than naming forbidden knowledge.
- id: motif:4
label: magical transformation of a human into a dog
taxonomy_refs:
- shapeshifter
basis: Amina uses water and words to command the narrator to become a dog, after
which he knows he has ceased to be a man.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The transformation is imposed on the victim rather than voluntary shapeshifting
by the transformed figure.
- id: motif:5
label: magic performed through water and spoken formula
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Amina plunges her hand into a vessel of water, murmurs words, sprinkles the
narrator's face, and the transformation follows.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The exact words of the murmured formula are not reported except for the
command to become a dog.
- id: motif:6
label: animal-form fugitive seeks urban refuge
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: After transformation, the narrator flees through the gate, is attacked by
dogs, and hides in a cookshop.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: This is an episode-level pattern within the passage, not a named motif
family in the provided taxonomy.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 8934-8950
quote_or_summary: The narrator follows Amina by moonlight after she leaves the house,
sees her enter a cemetery, hides by the wall, and sees her approach with a ghoul.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamicate-folklore/project-gutenberg/arabian-nights-lang.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from provided passage.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 8950-8956
quote_or_summary: The ghoul is described as a demon that lives in deserted places,
attacks unwary travelers for their flesh, and otherwise feeds on dead bodies in
cemeteries.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamicate-folklore/project-gutenberg/arabian-nights-lang.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from provided passage.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 8957-8966
quote_or_summary: Amina and the female ghoul dig up a corpse buried that day, sit
on the grave edge to eat, talk cheerfully, then return the body and earth to the
grave.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamicate-folklore/project-gutenberg/arabian-nights-lang.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from provided passage.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 8982-8996
quote_or_summary: At dinner Amina again eats only a few grains of rice; the narrator
asks whether any dish is as sweet as the flesh of a corpse.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamicate-folklore/project-gutenberg/arabian-nights-lang.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from provided passage.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 8997-9007
quote_or_summary: Amina realizes he followed her, becomes violently enraged, takes
a vessel of water, puts her hand in it, murmurs unheard words, and sprinkles the
water on his face.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamicate-folklore/project-gutenberg/arabian-nights-lang.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from provided passage.
- id: ev:6
type: quote
locator: lines 9008-9014
quote_or_summary: '"Wretch, receive the reward of your prying, and become a dog."
The narrator then knows he has ceased to be a man.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamicate-folklore/project-gutenberg/arabian-nights-lang.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation from provided passage.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 9014-9027
quote_or_summary: Amina beats the dog-formed narrator with a stick, pursues him
into the courtyard, and tries to crush him with the street gate, but he escapes
with only his tail hurt.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamicate-folklore/project-gutenberg/arabian-nights-lang.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from provided passage.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 9028-9035
quote_or_summary: The narrator howls through the streets, is attacked by other dogs,
and takes refuge in a cookshop; the owner drives the dogs away but later tries
to expel him as unclean.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/islamicate-folklore/project-gutenberg/arabian-nights-lang.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from provided passage.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Literal extraction is well supported by the passage. Motif labels are descriptive
and partly mapped to the supplied taxonomy where appropriate; no external comparison
claims are made because the passage itself gives no explicit comparative frame.
reviewer_status:
status: needs_review
reviewer: ''
reviewed_at: ''
notes: Machine-generated draft from OpenAI Batch; not human-reviewed.
extracted_by: openai_batch:gpt-5.5
extracted_at: '2026-04-28'
notes: |-
Used only the supplied passage and metadata; comparison_claims left empty.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:islamicate-folklore-arabian-nights-lang-gutenberg__l8934-l9035
passage_sha256=0c923b7dd3dedd35c948454f588d140df16d96eae02ed9b1dec48280c360c561