The Harim and the Purdah: Studies of Oriental WomenCooper, Elizabeth
Religion
The Harim and the Purdah: Studies of Oriental Women
Cooper, Elizabeth
East Asia -- Social life and customs; Women -- East Asia
A _Yearner_—that is, a woman who has children by a former husband and
wishes to get everything possible for them from her present husband.
A _Deplorer_.—One who is constantly deploring the loss of her first
husband and stating his virtues to the disparagement of the present
incumbent.
A _Backbiter_.—One who is kind to her husband’s face and behind his back
accuses him of cruelty, miserliness, and ill-treatment.
A _Toadstool_.—A beauty who is lazy and tyrannical and uses all the
substance of her husband to buy silks, jewels, and perfumes with which
to adorn herself.
There is no courtship as we know it. The marriage is made by the parents
or by a “go-between,” and the parties most interested do not see each
other until the night of the marriage, although they may have exchanged
photographs and have heard eulogistic descriptions of each other. But
there are no shy meetings, no gazing into the eyes of the loved one. A
girl would be considered as lacking in modesty and maidenly reserve if
it were known that she attempted to see the man to whom she will be
compelled to owe all allegiance and who will practically own her, body
and soul, as soon as she is his wife.
During the time before the marriage the bridegroom, if a man of wealth,
sends his bride-to-be many costly presents, generally in the shape of
jewelry, silks, fans, slippers, and boxes of sweets. Her gifts to him
are cigarette cases, embroidered sleeping suits, a rich fez, or some
other practical evidence of her affection.
In families of any social pretensions whatsoever, there is drawn a
marriage contract which stipulates the amount of dowry and whatever
business relationships are entered into by the husband and wife. If the
amount of dowry is not expressly stated in the contract, the woman is
entitled to the customary dower of a woman of her class, which is judged
according to that received by the other female members of her family.
This contract can also contain a stipulation that the husband may not
marry another wife so long as the present wife is living with him, and
it also often states that the wife may divorce her husband for certain
expressly stated causes.
There are two kinds of dower, one called “prompt” which is all paid at
the time of the marriage, the other where only part is given at that
time and the rest retained to be paid in case of divorce or on the death
of the husband. In the latter case the dower must be paid before the
other debts of the estate are settled. The wife has absolute rights over
her dower and can refuse to go to her husband’s home until it is paid.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account