Yes, you are correct.
So what do we do with today's harridans?
Yous see, his first wife truly was a harridan, whom he had beheaded after he found out.
He then swore no other wives would ever cheat on him again, and thus he would marry them, sleep with them, and then off with their heads the next morning.
King was running out of virgins to marry when he spied Shaharazade (sp?)and ordered her to come to him to marry.
She knew the gig was up the next day, so started the 1001 nights of tales as bert describes.
What is missins is this:She was not a harridan, but a very intelligent, innocent, down to earth young girl, who, during the 1001 nights, would spin tale after tale of deceit yes, but forgiveness, and respect, and honor.
In the end, the reason the king did not have her killed was because he finally saw the light that he was not the only one thus wronged, and far greater men than he had learned to and actually practiced forgiveness, mercy, and honor.
In that vein, we actually could use a boatload more like her, especially in seats of office where laws are "cussed and discussed.."