Persian Letters by Montesquieu

Persian Letters is a collection of fictional letters written by two Persian travelers, Usbek and Rica, as they journey through France and Europe. Through their outsider's eyes, Montesquieu critiques French society, absolute monarchy, organized religion, gender oppression, and the illusion of civilization.

It's both a satirical mirror and a philosophical lens: what seems foreign becomes familiar, and what's familiar becomes absurd.

Key themes
1) Cultural relativism
By observing French customers with Persian eyes, Montesquieu challenges the notion of a universal "normal". He reveals how arbitrary and constructed many societal norms are - whether in dress, manners, or religion.
He reveals how arbitrary and constructed many societal norms are - whether in dress, manners, or religion.

2) Critique of absolutism
The king is both everywhere and nowhere - powerful and untouchable.
The legal system is tangled, inaccessible, and often absurd. Montesquieu subtly points to the dangers of centralized, unchecked power.

3) Religious satire
Rica and Usbek express confusion over Christian doctrines, revealing contradictions in the Church's teachings and its role in political life.
The letters question blind faith, superstition, and institutional control over conscience.

4) Gender, power, and control
In the subplot of Usbek's harem back in Persia, the story shifts from social satire to personal tragedy.
As the women rebel against their confinement, the illusion of control - and the hypocrisy of the "wiser master" - collapses.
Montesquieu explores themes of freedom, desire, resistance, and the limits of patriarchal authority.

5) Appearance vs reality
One of the most recurring theme is the hypocrisy of both French and Persian societies. Beneath the polished veneer lie contradiction, inequality, and fear.

Reading Persian Letters today feels like peeking into a hall of mirrors. I found myself not only laughing at the absurdities of 18th-century French court life but also recognizing echoes in our modern world - in nationalism, dogma, bureaucracy, and gender roles.

The book is not only a clever disguise for critique, but also a brave experiment: to use difference as a tool for understanding. It reminds me that sometimes we see most clearly when we step outside out own culture, or even our own story.

Quotes:

• It's always the weaker who suffers under the law
• How can one be Persian? -> how societies label "the other" to avoid self-reflection
• Customs are the laws of fools.