(_To the Editor of the Mirror_.)
In No. 385, of the MIRROR, one of your Correspondents gives an account
of the "_Origin_ of _wearing_ the veil," in which he attributes it to
Penelope, the beautiful wife of Ulysses. Now, for my own part, I feel
inclined to query this statement of C.K.W. first by his own account of
the origin, and second by Scripture.
Your Correspondent, speaking of the decision which the wife of Ulysses
was to give, says, "the beautiful Penelope finding herself in this
dilemma, _blushed_, and without making the least reply, drew _her_ veil
over her face," &c. By this I think it is clearly understood that veils
were common in Greece when this occurrence took place; or why say "_her_
veil," which readily implies, that it was customary to wear them, and
also that it was near her at the time; although, perhaps, she _might_
have been the first to use it upon such an occasion, namely, to hide her
blushes from the observation of her father when she decided upon
accompanying her husband in preference to staying with her parent. 2nd.
In Scripture we find the veil used in Moses' time, and even by Moses
himself,[3] 1491 years before Christ; but the earliest _mention_ of it
which I can find in the Old Testament is in Genesis, xxiv. 65, (before
Christ 1857 years,) where it says "Rebekah took a veil when she saw
Isaac coming towards her, and covered herself;" it being customary even
in those early times to wear them, especially with brides. Now, by
referring to the History of Greece, it appears that Sparta, near which
this scene of Penelope's is said to have taken place, was not _founded_
or instituted till about A.M. 2650, or before Christ 1354, which alone
makes a difference of 500 years, setting aside the time from the
foundation of Sparta to the period in which Ulysses lived.
[3] Exodus, xxxiv. 33, 34, and 35.
I therefore come to the conclusion that your Correspondent is mistaken
with regard to the origin of wearing the veil; for it is allowed by all
that the Bible is the most ancient work extant, therefore to that we
must go for such information as cannot be derived from any other source.
I beg leave to conclude this paper with a few observations, and some
extracts from different writers, on the veils worn in the East, which
may not, perhaps, be uninteresting to your numerous readers.
By perusing the various accounts given us by travellers in the East, it
appears that great importance is attached to the veil. The strictness
with which the ladies keep their faces covered and hidden from the sight
of men, is common in the East, for they are generally of the most
exquisite beauty; and would take it as the greatest insolence which
could be offered to them, should their veils at any time be drawn aside.
"Veil answers to the Hebrew word _tzaiph_, translated by a veil, a
scarf, or mantle, with which the eastern women covered their head and
face. The Hebrew has also _haradidim_, or veils to sit at table in. The
veil was a kind of crape, so that they could see through it, or at least
a passage was left for the light to come to their eyes." _Calmet_, vol.
ii. art. Veil.
Veils are usually worn both in the house and when abroad, and are of
four kinds; one of which is a kind of handkerchief, which the Eastern
ladies wear over the face and the temples. This handkerchief or veil has
a net work at the place of the eyes, like point or thread lace, in order
that it may be seen through.
Chardin, in his _Voyage en Perse_, tom. ii. p. 50, says, "The Armenian
women, contrary to the Mahometan women, have, even when in the house,
the lower part of the face veiled, even including the nose, if they are
married. This is in order that their nearest relations and their
priests, who have the liberty of visiting them, may see only a part of
their face; but the girls wear this veil only to the mouth, for the
contrary reason, in order that they may be seen enough to judge of their
beauty, and to talk of it.... Girls are not _shut up_ in Persia till
they attain the age of six or seven years; before that age they go out
of the seraglio, sometimes with their father, so that they may then be
seen. I have seen some wonderfully pretty. They show the neck and bosom,
and more beautiful cannot be seen."
Hanway gives the following account, _Travels in Persia_, vol i.
185:--"The women in Ghilan are fair, their eyes and hair black; but
here, as in other places, they often use a drug with which they blacken
their eyes. In this province their features are small: these, as well as
their stature, partaking much of the delicate. But in general the
Georgians are most esteemed for the charms of their persons. The females
who do not labour in the field, are seldom seen abroad, except in a
morning before the sun rises, and then they are covered with _veils_,
which reach down to their feet. When they travel on horseback, every
lady of distinction is not only veiled, but has generally a servant; who
runs or rides before her to clear the way; and on such occasions the
men, even in the market-places, _always turn their backs till the women
are past_, it being thought the highest ill manners to look at them; but
this awful respect is a proof of the slavery in which they are doomed to
live. The care which they take to conceal their faces, to avoid the
imputation of acting indelicately, and contrary to custom, has made so
strong an impression on them, that I was told of a woman who being
accidentally surprised when bathing, showed her whole person except her
face; to hide which all her solicitude was employed."
From Volney, vol. ii. p. 481, we have the following:--"In Asia the women
are rigorously secluded from the society of men; constantly shut up in
their houses, they have no communication but with their husband, their
father, their brother, or at most their cousin german. Carefully
_veiled_ in the streets, they dare hardly speak to a man, even on
business. Everybody must be strangers to them; it would be indecent to
fix your eyes on them; and you must let them pass you as if there were
something contagious in their nature. The situation of the women among
the Orientals, occasions a great contrast between their manners and
ours. Such is their delicacy on this head, that they never speak of
them; and it would be esteemed highly indecent to make any inquiries of
the men respecting the women of their family. They are unable to
conceive how our women go with their faces uncovered; when, in their
country, an uplifted veil is the mark of a prostitute, or the signal for
a love adventure."
Pitt's account coincides with the above. "At Algiers, if there are two,
three, or four families in one house, as many times there happens to be,
yet they may live there many years and never see one another's wife." p.
63. "The women wear veils, so that a man's own wife may pass him in the
street and he not have the least knowledge of her. They will not stop to
speak with men, or even with their own husbands in the street." p. 67.
Niebuhr says, p. 44. "A man never salutes women in public; he would even
commit an indecency if he looked at them steadily. An Arab lady who met
us in a wide valley of the desert of Mount Sinai, went out of the way,
gave her camel to be led by her servant, and walked on foot till we were
passed; another, who met us in a narrow way, and who was on foot, sat
down, and turned her back towards us."
We see by the above, the importance attached to this part of female
dress in the East. The females of the Jewish nation, as referred to
above, in the case of Rebekah, wore the veil as a token of modesty,
reverence, or _subjection_ to their husbands. Chardin also says,
(_Voyage en Perse_) speaking of a peculiar sort of veil, "Only married
women wear it; and it is the mark by which it is known _that they are
under subjection_ or power."
I will not enlarge further upon the subject, but leave it to your
readers to draw their own conclusions.