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WOMEN IN TURKEY. 51
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
-«Gp- • - The Word Harem Has A Very Vari...
she disdained goat-hair wigs , for she wore her own hair , but dyed of an orange red . Her dress , though not tasteful , was rich , and
formed a striking contrast -with that of her children , who looked like little beggars ! So long as the bey was present , she looked as
bashful as a young bride on her wedding day , covering her face with her veil , her hands , or anything she had by herand . only
re-, plying in monosyllables . Her face turned to the wall , she uttered little nervous laughs , seemed ready to melt into tears on the first
favorable opportunity , in a word , renewed all the little manoeuvres which I had so often seen practised by females in a similar position ,
and which always flatter an Oriental husband . " It is the sentiment of their inferiority which agitates them so much ! " they say ; this
feeling in those who surround us , supposes necessarily our own superiority , and the masters of the harem take as a compliment the
embarrassment their presence creates . So , after having enjoyed for some time the charming confusion he caused , and having begged me
many times to " pay no attention to his wife , who was but a Turk , " the bey left us , saying that I should not be able to get a word from
her , so long as he was there . When he had passed the threshold of the door , I turned to his wife , and thought at first that she had
vanished through a trap door , leaving nothing to represent her but a bundle of clothes . A slight undulation in this shapeless mass
warned me of my mistake , and presently the painted visage of my fair hostess came out as from a cloud . The parting adieu of her
dear lord had thrown her into such a state of emotion , that she had found it necessary to hide her face between her knees ! Those who
know the attitude in which the Orientals seat themselves , will understand that the evolution effected hy Mrs . Mustuk did not offer any
great difficulty ,. When we were alone she dropped the mask of timidity and
conversed for some time with perfect freedom . She made many inquiries respecting our customs , which seemed to her as singular
as they were amusing , if I may judge by her bursts of laughter , which were renewed as frequently as the burden of a song , and
were as much dpropos . I was , however , convinced that my fair hostess was not as simple as her lord deigned to believe , on seeing
the interest she took in a number of things which did not concern her , and the perseverance with , which she asked me the why and
the wherefore of everything . It would have been very difficult to reply categorically to all her questions so as to be understood , but I
already knew the magic word , the talisman which subdues instantly all Oriental curiosity : just say" It is the custom of the country , "
and no matter how monstrous , , how inexplicable a thing may appear , the question is not repeated , and curiosity is completely
satisfied . The Orientals are so accustomed from infancy to see , do , and suffer an . infinite number of absurdities consecrated by custom ,
that they end by regarding it as the ancients did Fate , a divinity unchangeable , inexorable , superior to all others , and against whom ,
_YOk . IV . E 2
Women In Turkey. 51
WOMEN IN TURKEY . 51
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Citation
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English Woman’s Journal (1858-1864), Sept. 1, 1859, page 51, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ewj/issues/ewj_01091859/page/51/
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