THE SUBJECTION OF WIVES
AMONG the lower races, as a rule, a woman is always more or less in a
state of dependence. When she is emancipated by marriage from the
power of her father, she generally passes into the power of her
husband. But the authority which the latter possesses over his wife
varies extremely among different peoples.
Frequently the wife is said to be the property or slave of her
husband. In Fiji "the women are kept in great subjection. . . . Like
other property, wives may be sold at pleasure, and the usual price is
a musket."[1] "The Carib woman is always in bondage to her male
relations. To her father, brother, or husband she is ever a slave, and
seldom has any power in the disposal of herself."[2] Many North
American Indians are said to treat their wives much as they treat
their dogs.[3] Among the Shoshones "the man is the sole proprietor of
his wives and daughters, and can barter them away, or dispose of them
in any manner he may think proper."[4] Among the East African Wanika a
woman "is a toy, a tool, a slave in the very worst sense; indeed she
is treated as though she were a {630} mere brute."[5] Many other
statements to a similar effect are met with in ethnographical
literature.[6]
[Footnote 1: Wilkes, _U.S. Exploring Expedition_, iii. 332.]
[Footnote 2: Brett, _Indian Tribes of Guiana_, p. 353.]
[Footnote 3: Harmon, _Journal of Voyages in the Interior of North
America_, p. 344.]
[Footnote 4: Lewis and Clarke, _Travels to the Source of the Missouri
River_, p. 307.]
[Footnote 5: New, _Life, Wanderings, and Labourings in Eastern
Africa_, p. 119.]
[Footnote 6: Gibbs, 'Tribes of Western Washington and Northwestern
Oregon,' in _Contributions to N. American Ethnology_, i. 198. von
Martius, _Beiträge zur Ethnographie Amerika's_, i. 104 (Brazilian
Indians). Reade, _Savage Africa_, p. 548 (Negroes of Equatorial
Africa). Proyart, 'History of Loango,' in Pinkerton, _Collection of
Voyages and Travels_, xvi. 570 (Negroes of Loango). Andersson, _Notes
on Travel in South Africa_, p. 236 (Ovambo). Castrén, _Nordiska resor
och forskningar_, i. 310; ii. 56 (Ostyaks). In all these cases women
are said to be mere articles of commerce, or slaves, or kept in a
state of dependence bordering on slavery. In other instances women are
said to be oppressed by their husbands, or treated as inferior beings
(Waitz [-Gerland], _Anthropologie der Naturvölker_, iii. 100 [North
American Indians]; vi. 626 [Melanesians]. Bancroft, _Native Races of
the Pacific States_, i. 121 [Hare and Sheep Indians]. Powers, _Tribes
of California_, p. 133 [Yuki]. Tuckey, _Expedition to Explore the
River Zaire_, p. 371 [Negroes]. Ling Roth, _Aborigines of Tasmania_,
p. 54).]
Yet it seems that even in cases where the husband's power over his
wife is described as absolute, custom has not left her entirely
destitute of rights. Of the Australian aborigines in general it is
said that "the husband is the absolute owner of his wife (or
wives)";[7] of the natives of Central Australia, that "each father of
a family rules absolutely over his own circle";[8] of certain tribes
in West Australia, that the state of slavery in which the women are
kept is truly deplorable, and that the mere presence of their husbands
makes them tremble.[9] But we have reason to believe that there is
some exaggeration in these statements, and they certainly do not hold
good of the whole Australian race. We have noticed above that custom
does not really allow the Australian husband full liberty to kill his
wife.[10] For punishing or divorcing her he must sometimes have the
consent of the tribe.[11] There are even cases in which a wife whose
husband has been unfaithful to her may complain of his conduct to the
elders of the tribe, and he may have to suffer for it.[12] In
North-West-Central Queensland the women are on one special occasion
{631} allowed themselves to inflict punishments upon the men: at a
certain stage of the initiation ceremony "each woman can exercise her
right of punishing any man who may have ill-treated, abused, or
'hammered' her, and for whom she may have waited months or perhaps
years to chastise."[13] Of the natives of Central Australia Messrs.
Spencer and Gillen say that "the women are certainly not treated
usually with anything which could be called excessive harshness";[14]
and we hear from various authorities that in several Australian tribes
married people are often much attached to each other, and continue to
be so even when they grow old.[15] Among the aborigines of New South
Wales, for instance, "the husbands are as a general rule fond of their
wives, and the wives loyal and affectionate to their husbands."[16]
Nay, white men who have lived among the blacks assure us that there
are henpecked husbands even in the Australian desert.[17]
[Footnote 7: Curr, _The Australian Race_, i. 109.]
[Footnote 8: Eyre, _Expeditions of Discovery into Central Australia_,
ii. 317.]
[Footnote 9: Salvado, _Mémoires historiques sur l'Australie_, p. 279.
For other similar statements referring to the Australian aborigines,
see Nieboer, _Slavery as an Industrial System_, p. 11.]
[Footnote 10: _Supra_, p. 418.]
[Footnote 11: Nieboer, _op. cit._ p. 17.]
[Footnote 12: _Ibid._ p. 18.]
[Footnote 13: Roth, _Ethnol. Studies among the North-West-Central
Queensland Aborigines_, pp. 141, 176.]
[Footnote 14: Spencer and Gillen, _Native Tribes of Central
Australia_, p. 50.]
[Footnote 15: Westermarck, _History of Human Marriage_, p. 359.
Stirling, _Report of the Horn Expedition to Central Australia_,
Anthropology, p. 36.]
[Footnote 16: Hill and Thornton, _Aborigines of New South Wales_, p. 7.]
[Footnote 17: Calvert, _Aborigines of Western Australia_, p. 31.]
Other instances may be added to show that the so-called absolute
authority of husbands over their wives is not to be taken too
literally. Of the Guiana Indians Sir E. F. Im Thurn observes:--"The
woman is held to be as completely the property of the man as his dog.
He may even sell her if he chooses."[18] But in another place the same
authority admits not only that the women in a quiet way may have a
considerable influence with the men, but that, "even if the men
were--though this is in fact quite contrary to their nature--inclined
to treat them cruelly, public opinion would prevent this."[19] Of the
Plains Indians of the United States Colonel Dodge writes:--"The
husband owns his wife entirely. He may abuse her, beat her, even kill
her without question. She is more absolutely a slave than any negro
before the war of rebellion." But {632} on the following page we are
told that custom gives to every married woman of the tribes "the
absolute right to leave her husband and become the wife of any other
man, the sole condition being that the new husband must have the means
to pay for her."[20] Among the Chippewyans the women are said to be
"as much in the power of the men as any other articles of their
property," although, at the same time, "they are always consulted, and
possess a very considerable influence in the traffic with Europeans,
and other important concerns."[21] Among the Mongols a woman is
"entirely dependent on her husband"; yet "in the household the rights
of the wife are nearly equal to those of the husband."[22] Dr.
Paulitschke tells us that among the Somals, Danakil, and Gallas, a
wife has no rights whatever in relation to her husband, being merely a
piece of property; but subsequently we learn that she is his equal,
and "a mistress of her own will."[23] We must certainly not, like Mr.
Spencer, conclude that where women are exchangeable for oxen or other
beasts they are "of course" regarded as equally without personal
rights.[24] The bride-price is a compensation for the loss sustained
in the giving up of the girl, and a remuneration for the expenses
incurred in her maintenance till the time of her marriage;[25] it does
not _eo ipso_ confer on the husband absolute rights over her. With
reference to certain tribes in South-Eastern Africa, the Rev. James
Macdonald observes:--"A man obtains a wife by giving her father a
certain number of cattle. This, though often called such, is not
purchase in the usual sense of the word. The woman does not become a
chattel. She cannot be resold or ill-treated beyond well-defined legal
limits. She retains certain rights to property and an interest in the
cattle paid for her. They are a guarantee for the husband's good {633}
behaviour."[26] There are even peoples among whom the husband's
authority hardly exists, although he has had to pay for his
wife.[27]
[Footnote 18: Im Thurn, _Indians of Guiana_, p. 223.]
[Footnote 19: _Ibid._ p. 215.]
[Footnote 20: Dodge, _Our Wild Indians_, p. 205 _sq._]
[Footnote 21: Mackenzie, _Voyages to the Frozen and Pacific Oceans_,
p. cxxii. _sq._ Schoolcraft, _Archives of Aboriginal Knowledge_, v. 176.]
[Footnote 22: Prejevalsky, _Mongolia_, i. 69 _sqq._]
[Footnote 23: Paulitschke, _Ethnographie Nordost-Afrikas_, pp. 189,
190, 244.]
[Footnote 24: Spencer, _Principles of Sociology_, i. 750.]
[Footnote 25: Westermarck, _History of Human Marriage_, p.
402.]
[Footnote 26: Macdonald, _Light in Africa_, p. 159.]
[Footnote 27: _E.g._, the Navahos and Pelew Islanders (Westermarck,
_op. cit._ pp. 392, 393, 398 _sq._ For the position of wives among
these peoples, see _infra_, pp. 638, 643).]
Among many peoples the hardest drudgeries of life are said to be
imposed on the women. Among the Kutchin "the women are literally
beasts of burden to their lords and masters. All the heavy work is
performed by them."[28] The Californian Karok, while on a journey,
lays by far the greatest burdens on his wife, whom he regards as a
drudge.[29] Among the Kenistenos the life of the women is an
uninterrupted succession of toil and pain, hence "they are sometimes
known to destroy their female children, to save them from the miseries
which they themselves have suffered."[30] "The condition of the women
among the Chaymas," says von Humboldt, "like that in all
semi-barbarous nations, is a state of privation and suffering. The
hardest labour is their share."[31] Among the Australian aborigines
"wives have to undergo all the drudgery of the camp and the march,
have the poorest food and the hardest work."[32] In Eastern Central
Africa "the women hold an inferior position. They are viewed as beasts
of burden, which do all the harder work."[33] Among the Kakhyens "the
men are averse to labour, but the lot of all women, irrespective of
rank, is one of drudgery";[34] and so forth.[35] But it seems that
{634} these and similar statements, however correct they be, hardly
express the whole truth. In early society each sex has its own
pursuits. The man is responsible for the protection of the family,
and, ultimately, for its support. His occupations are such as require
strength and agility--fighting, hunting, fishing, the construction of
implements for the chase and war, and, frequently, the cutting of
trees and the building of lodges.[36] The woman may accompany him as a
helpmate on his expeditions, sometimes even participating in the
battle,[37] and when they travel she generally carries the baggage.
But her principal occupations are universally of a domestic kind: she
procures wood and water, prepares the food, dresses skins, makes
clothes, takes care of the children. She, moreover, supplies the
household with vegetable food, gathers roots, berries, acorns, and so
forth, and among agricultural peoples very frequently cultivates the
soil. Whilst cattle-rearing, having developed out of the chase, is
largely a masculine pursuit,[38] agriculture, having developed out of
collecting seeds and plants, originally devolves on the
women.[39]
[Footnote 28: Hardisty, 'Loucheux Indians,' in _Smithsonian Report_,
1866, p. 312.]
[Footnote 29: Powers, _op. cit._ p. 23 _sq._]
[Footnote 30: Schoolcraft, _Archives of Aboriginal Knowledge_, v. 167.]
[Footnote 31: von Humboldt, _Personal Narrative of Travels_, iii. 238.]
[Footnote 32: Curr, _The Australian Race_, i. 110.]
[Footnote 33: Macdonald, _Africana_, i. 35.]
[Footnote 34: Anderson, _Mandalay to Momien_, p. 137.]
[Footnote 35: For other instances, see Mackenzie, _Voyages to the
Frozen and Pacific Oceans_, p. 147 (Rocky Mountain Indians); Parker,
in Schoolcraft, _Archives_, v. 684 (Comanches); Im Thurn, _op. cit._
p. 215 (Guiana Indians); Keane, 'Botocudos,' in _Jour. Anthr. Inst._
xiii. 206; Weddell, _Voyage towards the South Pole_, p. 156, Darwin,
_Journal of Researches_, p. 216, and Bove, _Patagonia_, p. 131
(Fuegians); Nieboer, _op. cit._ p. 13 _sqq._ (Australian aborigines);
Williams and Calvert, _Fiji_, p. 145; Forster, _Voyage round the
World_, ii. 324 (natives of Tana, of the New Hebrides); Zimmermann,
_Inseln des indischen und stillen Meeres_, ii. 17 (New Caledonians),
105 (New Irelanders); Lewin, _Wild Races of South-Eastern India_, pp.
192 (Toungtha), 254 _sq._ (Kukis); Rowney, _Wild Tribes of India_, p.
214 (most of the wild tribes of India); Reade, _op. cit._ pp. 51, 259,
545 (various African peoples); Waitz, _Anthropologie der Naturvölker_,
ii. 117 (Negroes); Valdau, 'Om Ba-Kwileh folket,' in _Ymer_, v. 167,
169.]
[Footnote 36: See Spencer, _Principles of Sociology_, i. 750 _sqq._]
[Footnote 37: For women taking part in battles, see Schoolcraft,
_Indian Tribes of the United States_, i. 236 (Comanches); Powers, _op.
cit._ pp. 246 (Shastika Indians of California), 253 (Modok Indians of
California); Waitz [-Gerland], _op. cit._ iii. 375 (Caribs), vi. 121
(Maoris); Wilkes, _op. cit._ v. 93 (Kingsmill Islanders); Kotzebue,
_Voyage of Discovery into the South Sea_, iii. 171 (natives of
Radack).]
[Footnote 38: Grosse, _Die Formen der Familie_, p. 92 _sqq._]
[Footnote 39: _Ibid._ p. 159. Hildebrand, _Recht und Sitte auf den
verschiedenen wirthschaftlichen Kulturstufen_, p. 44 _sqq._ Dargun,
'Ursprung und Entwicklungsgeschichte des Eigenthums,' in _Zeitschr. f.
vergl. Rechtswiss._ v. 39, 110. Bücher, _Die Entstehung der
Volkswirthschaft_, p. 36 _sqq._ Schurtz, _Das afrikanische Gewerbe_,
p. 7. Ling Roth, 'Origin of Agriculture,' in _Jour. Anthr. Inst._ xvi.
119 _sq._ Mason, _Woman's Share in Primitive Culture_, pp. 15 _sqq._,
146 _sqq._, 277 _sq._ Havelock Ellis, _Man and Woman_, p. 5. von den
Steinen, _Unter den Naturvölkern Zentral-Brasiliens_, p. 214. von
Schuetz-Holzhausen, _Der Amazonas_, p. 67 (Peruvian Indians). Waitz,
_op. cit._ iii. 376 (Caribs). Prescott, in Schoolcraft, _Indian Tribes
of the United States_, i. 235 (Dacotahs). Colden, _ibid._ iii. 191;
Seaver, _Narrative of the Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison_, p. 168
(Iroquois). 'Die Baluga-Negritos der Provinz Pampanga (Luzon),' in
**_Globus_, xli. 238. Zöller, _Kamerun_, iii. 58 (Banaka and Bapuku).
Möller, Pagels, and Gleerup, _Tre år i Kongo_, i. 129, 137 (Kuilu
Negroes), 270 (Bakongo). Valdau, in _Ymer_, v. 165 (Bakwileh).
Burrows, 'Natives of the Upper Welle District,' in _Jour. Anthr.
Inst._ xxviii. 41 (Niam-Niam). New, _op. cit._ pp. 114 (Wanika), 359
(Wataveta). Stuhlmann, _Mit Emin Pascha ins Herz von Afrika_, p. 182
(Waganda). Pogge, _Im Reiche des Muata Jamwo_, p. 243 (Kalunda of
Mussumba). Decle, _Three Years in Savage Africa_, pp. 78, 79, 85
(Barotse), 160 (Matabele). von Weber, _Vier Jahre in Afrika_, ii. 195
(Zulus). There are, however, exceptions to the rule. Among the Creeks
and Cherokee Indians not a third part as many women as men are seen at
work in their plantations (Bartram, in _Trans. American Ethn. Soc._
iii. pt i. 31). Among the Wakamba both sexes work in the fields, all
heavy work, such as clearing and breaking new ground, being done by
men (Decle, _op. cit._ p. 493). Among various peoples, indeed, such
agricultural work as requires considerable strength devolves on the
male sex (Hildebrand, _op. cit._ p. 44 _sqq._ Havelock Ellis, _Man and
Woman_, p. 5). In the Malay Archipelago the men are chiefly engaged in
the field-work (Ratzel, _History of Mankind_, i. 441). In the
Kingsmill Islands (Wilkes, _op. cit._ v. 91), Tonga (Cook, _Voyage to
the Pacific Ocean_, i. 390 _sqq._), and the Caroline Group (Cantova,
quoted _ibid._ i. 392, note) the soil is cultivated by the men. Among
the Gallas, "whilst the women tend the sheep and oxen in the field,
and manage the hives of bees, the men plough, sow, and reap" (Harris,
_Highlands of Aethiopia_, iii. 47).]
{635} The various occupations of life are thus divided between the
sexes according to rules; and, though the formation of these rules no
doubt has been more or less influenced by the egoism of the stronger
sex, the essential principle from which they spring lies deeper. They
are on the whole in conformity with the indications which nature
herself has given. Take, for instance, the apparently cruel custom of
using the women as beasts of burden. To the superficial observer, as
M. Pinart remarks--with special reference to the Panama Indians,--it
may indeed seem strange that the woman should be charged with a heavy
load, while the man walking before her carries nothing but his
weapons. But a little reflection will make it plain that the man has
good reason for keeping himself free and mobile. The little caravan is
surrounded with dangers: when traversing a savannah or a forest a
hostile Indian may appear at any moment, or a tiger or a snake may lie
in wait for the travellers. Hence the man must be on the alert, and
ready in an instant to catch his arms to defend himself and his family
against the aggressor.[40] Dobrizhoffer writes, "The luggage being all
committed to the women, the Abipones travel armed {636} with a spear
alone, that they may be disengaged to fight or hunt, if occasion
require."[41]
[Footnote 40: Pinart, quoted by Nieboer, _op. cit._ p. 21.]
[Footnote 41: Dobrizhoffer, _Account of the Abipones_, ii. 118. _Cf._
Wied-Neuwied _Reise nach Brasilien_, ii. 17, 37 (Botocudos); Giddings,
_Principles of Sociology_, p. 266 _sq._]
Moreover, whatever may have been the original reason for allotting a
certain occupation to the one sex to the exclusion of the other, any
such restriction has subsequently been much emphasised by custom, and
in many cases by superstition as well.[42] In Africa it is a common
belief that the cattle get ill if women have anything to do with
them.[43] Hence among most Negro races milking is only permitted to
men.[44] In South-Eastern Africa "a woman must not enter the cattle
fold."[45] The Bechuanas never allow women to touch their cattle,
hence the men have to plough themselves.[46] In North America Indian
custom and superstition ordain that the wife must carefully keep away
from all that belongs to her husband's sphere of action.[47] On the
other hand, among the Dacotahs "the men do not often interfere with
the work of the women; neither will they help them if they can avoid
it, for fear of being laughed at and called a woman."[48] In Abyssinia
"it is infamy for a man to go to market to buy anything. He cannot
carry water or bake bread; but he must wash the clothes belonging to
both sexes, and, in this function, the women cannot help him."[49]
Among the Beni A[h.]sen tribe in Morocco the women of the village
where I was staying were quite horrified when one of my native
servants set out to fetch water; they would on no account allow him to
do what they said was a woman's business. The Greenlander regards it
as scandalous for a man to interfere with any occupation which belongs
to the women. When he has brought his booty to land, he troubles
himself no further about it; "for it would be a stigma on his
character, {637} if he so much as drew a seal out of the water."[50]
Among the Bakongo a man would be much ridiculed by the women
themselves, if he wanted to help them in their work in the field.[51]
Sometimes agriculture is supposed to be dependent for success on a
magic quality in woman, intimately connected with child-bearing.[52]
Some Orinoco Indians said to Father Gumilla:--"When the women plant
maize the stalk produces two or three ears; when they set the manioc
the plant produces two or three baskets of root; and thus everything
is multiplied. Why? Because women know how to produce children, and
know how to plant the corn so as to ensure its germinating. Then, let
them plant it; we do not know so much as they do."[53]
[Footnote 42: See Crawley, _Mystic Rose_, p. 49 _sq._]
[Footnote 43: Schurtz, _Das afrikanische Gewerbe_, p. 10.]
[Footnote 44: Ratzel, _op. cit._ ii. 419.]
[Footnote 45: Macdonald, _Life in Africa_, p. 221.]
[Footnote 46: Holub, 'Central South African Tribes,' in _Jour. Anthr.
Inst._ x. 11.]
[Footnote 47: Waitz, _op. cit._ iii. 100.]
[Footnote 48: Prescott, in Schoolcraft, _Indian Tribes of the United
States_, iii. 235.]
[Footnote 49: Bruce, _Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile_
iv. 474.]
[Footnote 50: Nansen, _First Crossing of Greenland_, ii. 313. Cranz,
_History of Greenland_, i. 138, 154.]
[Footnote 51: Möller, Pagels, and Gleerup, _op. cit._ i. 270.]
[Footnote 52: See Payne, _History of the New World_, ii. 8.]
[Footnote 53: Gumilla, _El Orinoco ilustrado_, ii. 274 _sq._]
It is obvious that this strict division of labour is apt to mislead
the travelling stranger. He sees the women hard at work, and the men
idly looking on; and it escapes him that the latter will have to be
busy in their turn, within their own sphere of action. What is largely
due to the force of custom is taken to be sheer tyranny on the part of
the men; and the wife is pronounced to be an abject slave of her
husband, destitute of all rights. And yet the strong differentiation
of work, however burdensome it may be to the wife, is itself a source
of rights, giving her authority within the circle which is exclusively
her own. Among the Banaka and Bapuku the wife, though said to be her
husband's property and slave, is nevertheless an autocrat in her own
house, strong enough to bid defiance to her lord and master.[54] Among
the North American Indians, Schoolcraft observes, "the lodge itself,
with all its arrangements, is the precinct of the rule and government
of the wife. . . . The husband has no voice in this matter."[55] Many
other statements to a similar effect will be quoted below.
[Footnote 54: Steinmetz, _Rechtsverhältnisse_, p. 29 _sq._]
[Footnote 55: Schoolcraft, _Indian in his Wigwam_, p. 73.]
{638} We have reason, then, to believe that the authority which savage
husbands possess over their wives is not always quite so great as it
is said to be. And we must distinctly reject as erroneous the broad
statement that the lower races in general hold their women in a state
of almost complete subjection.[56] Among many of them the married
woman, though in the power of her husband, is known to enjoy a
remarkable degree of independence, to be treated by him with
consideration, and to exercise no small influence upon him. In several
cases she is stated to be his equal, and in a few his superior.
[Footnote 56: Thus Meiners says (_History of the Female Sex_, i. 2),
"Among savage nations, the entrance into the married state is for the
female the commencement of the most cruel and abject slavery; for
which reason many women dread matrimony more than death." In a recent
work on the primitive family an Italian writer regards it as perhaps
the most fundamental fact in the family institution that the woman is
always and everywhere "sottoposta al più gravoso _mundium_ maritale"
(Amadori-Virgilj, _L'istituto famigliare nelle società primordiali_,
p. 138).]
Among many of the South American Indians the women have been
noticed to occupy a respected position in the family or community.[57]
Thus, among the Goajiros of Colombia, "in a quarrel or drunken brawl,
women often save bloodshed by stepping in and tearing the weapons out
of their husband's or brother's hand. Travelling with women is
consequently perfectly safe, and in case of danger, if one undertakes
to protect a stranger, he may rely upon coming out all right."[58]
Among the Tarahumares of Mexico--in spite of their saying that one man
is as good as five women--the woman "occupies a comparatively high
position in the family, and no bargain is ever concluded until the
husband has consulted his wife in the matter."[59] Among the Navahos
of New Mexico the women "exert a great deal of influence";[60] they
"are very independent of menial duties, and leave their husbands upon
the slightest pretext of dislike";[61] "by common consent the house
and all the domestic gear belongs entirely to the wife."[62] In {639}
his description of North American Indians Mr. Grinnell observes:--"The
Indian woman, it is usually thought, is a mere drudge and slave, but,
so far as my observations extend, this notion is wholly an erroneous
one. It is true that the women were the labourers of the camp; that
they did all the hard work, about which there was no excitement . . . .
but they were not mere servants. On the contrary, their position was
very respectable. They were consulted on many subjects, not only in
connection with family affairs, but in more important and general
matters. Sometimes women were even admitted to the councils and spoke
there, giving their advice. . . . In ordinary family conversation
women did not hesitate to interrupt and correct their husbands when
the latter made statements with which they did not agree, and the men
listened to them with respectful attention, though of course this
depended on the standing of the woman, her intelligence, etc."[63]
Another competent observer, Ten Kate, strongly protests against the
statement that, among the North American Indians, women are treated as
beasts of burden, and affirms that their condition, as compared with
that of the women of the lower classes in civilised countries, is
rather better than worse.[64] Among the Omahas the women had an equal
standing in society with the men; both the husband and wife were at
the head of the family and the joint owners of the lodge, robes, and
so forth, so that the man could not give away anything if his wife was
unwilling.[65] Among the Senecas, "usually, the female portion ruled
the house, and were doubtless clannish enough about it. The stores
were in common; but woe to the luckless husband or lover who was too
shiftless to do his share of the providing. No matter how many
children, or whatever goods he might have in the house, he might at
any time be ordered to pick up his blanket and budge."[66] "From
documentary references," says Mr. Mooney, "it is apparent that there
existed among the Cherokee a custom analogous to that found among the
Iroquois and probably other Eastern tribes, by which the decision of
important questions relating to peace and war was left to a vote of
the women."[67] Among the Salish, or Flatheads, "although the women
are required to do much hard labour, they are {640} by no means
treated as slaves, but, on the contrary, have much consideration and
authority."[68] Among the Nootkas "wives are consulted in matters of
trade, and in fact seem to be nearly on terms of equality with their
husbands, except that they are excluded from some public feasts and
ceremonies."[69] Among the Indians about Puget Sound, also, women "are
always consulted in matters of trade before a bargain is closed," and
"acquire great influence in the tribe."[70] The Thlinket woman is not
the slave of her husband; she has determinate rights, and her
influence is considerable.[71] Among the natives of Cross Cape she
even possesses "acknowledged superiority over the other sex."[72]
Among the Western Tinneh "the women do only a fair share of the work
and have a powerful voice in most affairs."[73] In Kadiak they were
held in much respect, and enjoyed great liberties.[74] Among the
Kamchadales they had the command of everything, and the husbands were
their obedient slaves.[75] Nordenskiöld says of the Chukchi:--"The
power of the woman appears to be very great. In making the more
important bargains, even about weapons and hunting implements, she is,
as a rule, consulted, and her advice is taken. A number of things
which form women's tools she can barter away on her own
responsibility, or in any other way employ as she pleases."[76] Mr.
Bancroft's statement concerning the Western Eskimo, that "the lot of
the women is but little better than slavery,"[77] must be understood
as chiefly involving the fact that they have much hard work to do.
According to Dr. Seemann they "are treated, although not as equals, at
least with more consideration than is customary among barbarous
nations"; nay, "it not infrequently happens that the woman is the
chief authority of the house," and "the man {641} never makes a
bargain without consulting his wife, and if she does not approve, it
is rejected."[78] Among the Point Barrow Eskimo "the women appear to
stand on a footing of perfect equality with the men both in the family
and in the community. The wife is the constant and trusted companion
of the man in everything except the hunt, and her opinion is sought in
every bargain or other important undertaking."[79] In Greenland, also,
though the woman is considered much inferior to the man, she is in no
way oppressed,[80] and her husband consults with her on important
matters.[81]
[Footnote 57: Waitz, _Anthropologie der Naturvölker_, iii. 472
(Guaycurus), 530 (Morotocos). von den Steinen, _Unter den Naturvölkern
Zentral-Brasiliens_, p. 332 (Bakaïri).]
[Footnote 58: Simons, 'Exploration of the Goajira Peninsula,' in
_Proceed. Roy. Geo. Soc._ N.S. vii. 792. See also Candelier,
_Rio-Hacha_, p. 256.]
[Footnote 59: Lumholtz, _Unknown Mexico_, i. 265.]
[Footnote 60: Letherman, in _Ann. Rep. Smithsonian Inst._ 1855, p. 294.]
[Footnote 61: Eaton, in Schoolcraft, _Archives_, iv. 217.]
[Footnote 62: Stephen, in _American Anthropologist_, vi. 354.]
[Footnote 63: Grinnell, _Story of the Indian_, p. 46. _Cf._ Waitz,
_op. cit._ iii. 101 _sq._]
[Footnote 64: Ten Kate, _Reizen en ondersoekingen Noord-Amerika_, p.
365. _Cf._ _ibid._ 9.]
[Footnote 65: Dorsey, 'Omaha Sociology,' in _Ann. Rep. Bur. Ethn._
iii. 266, 366.]
[Footnote 66: Morgan, _Houses and House-Life of the American
Aborigines_, p. 65 _sq._ See also Dixon, _New America_, p. 46.]
[Footnote 67: Mooney, 'Myths of the Cherokee,' in _Ann. Rep. Bur.
Ethn._ xix. 489.]
[Footnote 68: Hale, _U.S. Exploring Expedition. Vol. VI. Ethnography
and Philology_, p. 207.]
[Footnote 69: Bancroft, _op. cit._ i. 196. _Cf._ Sproat, _Scenes and
Studies of Savage Life_, pp. 93, 95 (Ahts).]
[Footnote 70: Bancroft, _op. cit._ i. 218.]
[Footnote 71: Krause, _Tlinkit-Indianer_, p. 161.]
[Footnote 72: Meares, _Voyages to the North-West Coast of America_,
p. 323.]
[Footnote 73: Dall, _Alaska_, p. 431.]
[Footnote 74: Holmberg, 'Ethnographische Skizzen über die Völker des
russischen Amerika,' in _Acta Soc. Scient. Fennicæ_, iv. 399.]
[Footnote 75: Steller, _Beschreibung von dem Lande Kamtschatka_,
p. 287.]
[Footnote 76: Nordenskiöld, _Vegas färd kring Asien och Europa_,
ii. 144.]
[Footnote 77: Bancroft, _op. cit._ i. 65 _sq._ Mr. Bancroft's
authority is probably Armstrong, who says that the women are, to all
intents and purposes, the slaves of the men, and do the greater part
of the outdoor work, except hunting and fishing; but he adds that they
nevertheless enjoy a higher position and more consideration than is
usual amongst savages (Armstrong, _Personal Narrative of the Discovery
of the North-West Passage_, p. 195).]
[Footnote 78: Seemann, _Narrative of the Voyage of "Herald,"_ ii. 66.]
[Footnote 79: Murdoch, 'Ethnological Results of the Point Barrow
Expedition,' in _Ann. Rep. Bur. Ethn._ ix. 413.]
[Footnote 80: Nansen, _First Crossing of Greenland_, ii. 312.]
[Footnote 81: Nordenskiöld, _Den andra Dicksonska expeditionen till
Grönland_, p. 509.]
Among the nomadic Tangutans the women's rights in the household
seemed to Prejevalsky to be equal to those of the men.[82] Of the
Todas of India it is said that their women "hold a position in the
family quite unlike what is ordinarily witnessed among Oriental
nations. They are treated with respect, and are permitted a remarkable
amount of freedom."[83] Among the Kandhs women "are uniformly treated
with respect; the mothers of families generally with much honour.
Nothing is done either in public or in private affairs without
consulting them, and they generally exert upon the councils of their
tribes a powerful influence." A wife may quit her husband at any time,
except within a year of her marriage, or when she expects offspring,
or within a year after the birth of a child, though, when she quits
him, he has a right to reclaim immediately from her father the whole
sum paid for her.[84] Among the peasants of the North-Western
Provinces of India the wife is an influential personage in the
household, not a mere drudge. Little is done without her knowledge and
advice. If she is badly wronged the tribal council will protect her,
and on the whole her position is, perhaps, not worse than that of her
sisters in a similar grade of life in other parts of the world.[85]
Among the Káttis the men are much under the authority of their
wives.[86] Among the Bheels women "have much influence in the
society," and married men have always had the credit of allowing their
wives to domineer over them.[87] "A Kol or Ho," says Dr. Hayes, "makes
a regular companion {642} of his wife. She is consulted in all
difficulties, and receives the fullest consideration due to her
sex";[88] and Colonel Dalton adds, "As a rule, in no country in the
world are wives better treated."[89] The Garos are "kind husbands, and
their conduct generally towards the weaker sex is marked by
consideration and respect."[90] The Bódo and Dhimáls "use their wives
and daughters well, treating them with confidence and kindness."[91]
The Santal "treats the female members of his family with respect."[92]
Among the Kukis women are generally held in consideration; "their
advice is taken, and they have much influence."[93] Mr. Colquhoun
observes that among the Indo-Chinese races equality of the sexes
prevails, and prevailed long before Buddhism took any hold upon the
country.[94]
[Footnote 82: Prejevalsky, _Mongolia_, ii. 121.]
[Footnote 83: Marshall, _A Phrenologist amongst the Todas_, p. 43.]
[Footnote 84: Macpherson, _Memorials of Service in India_, pp. 69,
132 _sq._]
[Footnote 85: Crooke, _North-Western Provinces of India_, p. 230 _sq._]
[Footnote 86: Rowney, _Wild Tribes of India_, p. 47.]
[Footnote 87: Malcolm, _Memoir of Central India_, ii. 180. Rowney,
_op. cit._ p. 38.]
[Footnote 88: Hayes, quoted by Dalton, _Descriptive Ethnology of
Bengal_, p. 194. _Cf._ Bradley-Birt, _Chota-Nagpore_, p. 100 _sq._]
[Footnote 89: Dalton, _op. cit._ p. 194.]
[Footnote 90: _Ibid._ p. 68.]
[Footnote 91: Hodgson, _Miscellaneous Essays_, i. 150.]
[Footnote 92: Hunter, _Annals of Rural Bengal_, i. 217. _Cf._ _Ymer_,
v. p. xxiv.]
[Footnote 93: Lewin, _Wild Races of South-Eastern India_, p. 254.]
[Footnote 94: Colquhoun, _Amongst the Shans_, p. 234. _Cf._ Fytche,
_Burma_, ii. 72.]
Among the Nicobarese "the position of women is, and always has
been, in no way inferior to that of the other sex. They take their
full share in the formation of public opinion, discuss publicly with
the men matters of general interest to the village, and their opinions
receive due attention before a decision is arrived at. In fact, they
are consulted on every matter, and the henpecked husband is of no
extraordinary rarity in the Nicobars."[95] Mr. Crawfurd thinks that in
the Malay Archipelago "the lot of women may, on the whole, be
considered as more fortunate than in any other country of the East";
they associate with the men "in all respects on terms of such equality
as surprise us in such a condition of society."[96] In Bali they are
on a perfect equality with the men.[97] The Dyak shows great respect
for his wife, and always asks her opinion;[98] he regards her "not as
a slave, but as a companion."[99] Among the Bataks the married women
often have a great influence over their families.[100] In Serang they
have in all matters equal rights with the men, and are, consequently,
treated well.[101] The women of Sulu "have the reputation of ruling
their {643} lords, and possess much weight in the government by the
influence they exert over their husbands."[102]
[Footnote 95: Kloss, _In the Andamans and Nicobars_, p. 242.]
[Footnote 96: Crawfurd, _History of the Indian Archipelago_, i. 73.]
[Footnote 97: Raffles, _History of Java_, ii. p. ccxxxi.]
[Footnote 98: Bock, _Head-Hunters of Borneo_, p. 210 _sq._]
[Footnote 99: Selenka, _Sonnige Welten_, p. 33. _Cf._ Wilkes, _op.
cit._ v. 363.]
[Footnote 100: Steinmetz, _Ethnol. Studien zur ersten Entwicklung der
Strafe_, ii. 299.]
[Footnote 101: Riedel, _De sluik- en kroesharige rassen tusschen
Selebes en Papua_, p. 97.]
[Footnote 102: Wilkes, _op. cit._ v. 343.]
In Melanesia the women generally have to work hard, supplying the
place of slaves;[103] but at least in various islands their condition
is otherwise fairly good. In the Western islands of Torres Straits
"the women appear to have had a good deal to say on most questions and
were by no means downtrodden or ill-used."[104] In some parts of New
Guinea their position is described as one of high esteem.[105] "They
have a large voice in domestic affairs, and occasionally lord it over
their masters"; and their influence is felt not only in domestic
matters, but also in affairs of state.[106] In Erromanga, of the New
Hebrides, although the women did all of the hard plantation work, they
were on the whole well treated by their husbands.[107] The same is
said to be the case in the Solomon Islands;[108] in the eastern part
of New Georgia they do not even seem to do much work.[109] In
Micronesia the position of woman is decidedly good. In the Marianne
Group "the wife is absolute mistress in her house, the husband not
daring to dispose of anything without her consent"; nay, the men are
said to be actually governed by their wives, "the women assuming those
prerogatives which in most other countries are invested in the other
sex."[110] In the Pelew Islands the women are in every respect the
equals of the men; the oldest man, or Obokul, of a family can do
nothing without taking advice with its oldest female members.[111] In
the Caroline Group the weaker sex "enjoys a perfect equality in public
estimation with the other."[112] Among the Mortlock Islanders the wife
is quite independent of her husband.[113] In the Kingsmill Islands
very great consideration is awarded to the women: "they seem to have
exclusive control over the house," whilst all the hard labour is
performed by the {644} men.[114] Among the Line Islanders "no
difference is made in the sexes; a woman can vote and speak as well as
a man, and in general the women decide the question, unless it is one
of war against another island."[115] In many Polynesian islands, also,
their position is by no means bad.[116] In Tonga "women have
considerable respect shown to them on account of their sex,
independent of the rank they might otherwise hold as nobles"; they are
not subjected to hard labour or any very menial work,[117] and their
_status_ in society is not inferior to that of men.[118] In Samoa they
"are held in much consideration, . . . treated with great attention,
and not suffered to do anything but what rightfully belongs to
them."[119] In the valley of Typee, in the Marquesas Group, the women
are allowed every possible indulgence, the religious restrictions of
the taboo alone excepted; they are exempt from toil, and "nowhere are
they more sensible of their power."[120] Rochon wrote of the
Malagasy:--"Man here never commands as a despot; nor does the woman
ever obey as a slave. The balance of power inclines even in favour of
the women."[121] At the present day, in Madagascar, the woman "is not
scorned as essentially inferior to man," but enters into her husband's
cares and joys, and shares his life, much in the same way as a wife
does amongst ourselves.[122]
[Footnote 103: Nieboer, _op. cit._ p. 392 _sqq._ Waitz-Gerland, _op.
cit._ vi. 626.]
[Footnote 104: Haddon, in _Reports of the Cambridge Anthropological
Expedition to Torres Straits_, v. 229.]
[Footnote 105: Ratzel, _op. cit._ i. 274.]
[Footnote 106: Pitcairn, _Two Years among the Savages of New Guinea_,
p. 6l. _Cf._ Bink, in _Bulletin Soc. d'Anthrop. de Paris_, xi. 392;
Hagen, _Unter den Papua's_, pp. 226, 243.]
[Footnote 107: Robertson, _Erromanga_, p. 397.]
[Footnote 108: Parkinson, _Zur Ethnographie der nordwestlichen Salomo
Inseln_, p. 4.]
[Footnote 109: Somerville, 'Ethnogr. Notes in New Georgia,' in _Jour.
Anthr. Inst._ xxvi. 405 _sq._]
[Footnote 110: Moore, _Marriage Customs_, p. 187. Waitz, _op. cit._ v.
pt. i. p. 107 _sq._]
[Footnote 111: Kubary, _Die socialen Einrichtungen der Pelauer_, p. 38
_sq._ _Cf._ _Idem_, 'Die Palau-Inseln,' in _Journal des Museum
Godeffroy_, iv. 43; Keate, _Account of the Pelew Islands_, p. 331.]
[Footnote 112: Hale, _op. cit._ p. 73.]
[Footnote 113: Kubary, 'Die Bewohner der Mortlock Inseln,' in
_Mittheilungen der Geograph. Gesellsch. in Hamburg_, 1878-9, p. 261.]
[Footnote 114: Wilkes, _op. cit._ v. 91.]
[Footnote 115: Tutuila, in _Jour. Polynesian Soc._ i. 269.]
[Footnote 116: See Waitz-Gerland, _op. cit._ vi. 120 _sqq._]
[Footnote 117: Mariner, _Natives of the Tonga Islands_, ii. 97.]
[Footnote 118: Erskine, _Cruise among the Islands of the Western
Pacific_, p. 158.]
[Footnote 119: Wilkes, _op. cit._ ii. 148. _Cf._ Waitz-Gerland, _op.
cit._ vi. 121.]
[Footnote 120: Melville, _Typee_, p. 299.]
[Footnote 121: Rochon, 'Voyage to Madagascar,' in Pinkerton,
_Collection of Voyages and Travels_, xvi 747. _Cf._ Waitz, _op. cit._
ii. 438.]
[Footnote 122: Little, _Madagascar_, p. 63.]
Turning, finally, to the African continent, we find that among the
Negro races the woman, though often heavily burdened and more or less
subservient to her husband, is by no means without influence.[123]
"When we become more closely acquainted with family conditions," Herr
Büttner observes, "we notice that there, as elsewhere, husbands are
under petticoat government, and those most of all who like to pose
before the outer world as masters of their house. The women, including
the aunts, have on all occasions, important and unimportant alike, a
weighty {645} word to contribute."[124] The Monbuttu women, according
to Dr. Schweinfurth, exhibit towards their husbands the highest degree
of independence; "the position in the household occupied by the men
was illustrated by the reply which would be made if they were
solicited to sell anything as a curiosity, 'Oh, ask my wife: it is
hers.'"[125] Among the Momvus "the women are on a footing of equality
with the men, and go hunting with them, and accompany them to the
wars, taking their part in the combat."[126] Among the Madi or Moru
tribe of Central Africa "women are treated with respect and politeness
by the men, who always show them preference, resigning to their use
the best places, and paying them such like courtesies." The women
associate with the men on equal terms, being consulted and honoured;
and any insult to a woman is revenged, nay is frequently the cause of
war.[127] In a Hottentot's house the woman is the supreme ruler, and
the husband has nothing at all to say. "While in public the men take
the prominent part, at home they have not so much power even as to
take a mouthful of sour milk out of the tub, without the wife's
permission. If a man ever should try to do it, his nearest female
relations will put a fine on him, consisting in cows and sheep, which
is to be added to the stock of the wife."[128] Among the peoples of
Berber race the women exercise considerable influence over the men.
Among the Guanches of the Canary Islands they were much
respected.[129] Among the Touareg "la femme est l'égale de l'homme, si
même, par certains côtés, elle n'est dans une condition
meilleure."[130] Among the Beni Amer a husband undertakes nothing
before consulting his wife, on whose goodwill he largely depends.[131]
Of the Aulâd Solîmân, an Arab tribe in the Sahara, Dr. Nachtigal
observes that it was curious to see how powerless those much feared
robbers and cut-throats were in their own houses.[132] Both in the
Sahara[133] and in the East[134] the Bedouin women {646} enjoy a
considerable degree of freedom, and sometimes actually rule over their
husbands.
[Footnote 123: Waitz, _op. cit._ ii. 117. Ratzel, _op. cit._ ii. 332.
Buchner, _Kamerun_, p. 32 _sq._ Möller, Pagels, and Gleerup, _op.
cit._ i. 171 (Lukungu). Steinmetz, _Rechtsverhältnisse_, p. 29 (Banaka
and Bapuku). Lang, _ibid._ p. 225 (Washambala). Burrows, _Land of the
Pigmies_, p. 62 (Niam-Niam). Chanler, _Through Jungle and Desert_, p.
485 (Wakamba).]
[Footnote 124: Büttner, quoted by Ratzel, _op. cit._ ii. 334.]
[Footnote 125: Schweinfurth, _Heart of Africa_, ii. 91.]
[Footnote 126: Burrows, _op. cit._ p. 128.]
[Footnote 127: Felkin, 'Notes on the Madi or Moru Tribe,' in _Proceed.
Roy. Soc. Edinburgh_, xii. 329.]
[Footnote 128: Hahn, _The Supreme Being of the Khoi-Khoi_, p. 19.]
[Footnote 129: Bory de St. Vincent, _Essais sur les Isles Fortunées_,
p. 105. Mantegazza, _Rio de la Plata e Tenerife_ p. 630.]
[Footnote 130: Dyveyrier, _Exploration du Sahara_, p. 339. _Cf._
Chavanne, _Die Sahara_, p. 181; Hourst, _Sur le Niger et au pays des
Touaregs_, p. 209.]
[Footnote 131: Munzinger, _Ostafrikanische Studien_, p. 325.]
[Footnote 132: Nachtigal, _Sahara und Sudan_, ii. 93.]
[Footnote 133: Chavanne, _op. cit._ p. 397.]
[Footnote 134: Wallin, _Reseanteckningar från Orienten_, iii. 151,
152, 269. Blunt, _Bedouin Tribes of the Euphrates_, ii. 214, 226, 228.]
All these statements certainly do not imply that the husband has no
recognised power over his wife, but they prove that his power is by no
means unlimited. It is true that many of our authorities speak rather
of liberties that the woman takes herself than of privileges granted
her by custom; but, as we have seen before, customary rights are
always more or less influenced by habitual practice. It should be
added that among many savage peoples the husband has a right to
divorce his wife only under certain conditions;[135] and among a very
considerable number custom or law permits the wife to separate either
for some special cause or, simply, at will.[136] In certain parts of
Eastern Central Africa divorce may be effected if the husband neglects
to sew his wife's clothes, or if the partners do not please each
other.[137] Among the Shans of Burma the woman has a right to turn
adrift a husband who takes to drinking or otherwise misconducts
himself, and to retain all the goods and money of the partnership.[138]
Among the Irulas of the Neilgherries the option of remaining in union,
or of separating, rests principally with the woman.[139] Among the
Savaras, an aboriginal hill people of the Madras Presidency, "a woman
may leave her husband _whenever she pleases_."[140] This is surely
something very different from that absolute dominion which hasty
generalisers have attributed to savage husbands in general.
[Footnote 135: Westermarck. _op. cit._ p. 523 _sq._]
[Footnote 136: _Ibid._ p. 526 _sqq._]
[Footnote 137: Macdonald, _Africana_, i. 140.]
[Footnote 138: Colquhoun, _Amongst the Shans_, p. 295.]
[Footnote 139: Harkness, _Description of a Singular Aboriginal Race
inhabiting the Neilgherry Hills_, p. 92.]
[Footnote 140: Fawcett, in _Jour. Anthrop. Soc. Bombay_, i. 28.]
It is often said that a people's civilisation may be measured by the
position held by its women. But at least so far as the earlier stages
of culture are concerned, this opinion is not supported by facts.
Among several of the lowest races, including peoples like the Veddahs,
Andaman Islanders, and Bushmans, the female sex is {647} treated with
far greater consideration than among many of the higher savages and
barbarians. Travellers have not seldom noticed that of two
neighbouring tribes the less cultured one sets in this respect an
example to the other. "Among the Bushmans," says Dr. Fritsch, "the
female sex makes life-companions, among the A-bantu beasts of
burden."[141] Lewis and Clarke affirm that the _status_ of woman in a
savage tribe has no necessary relation even to its moral qualities in
general. "The Indians," they say, "whose treatment of the females is
mildest, and who pay most deference to their opinions, are by no means
the most distinguished for their virtues. . . . On the other hand, the
tribes among whom the women are very much debased, possess the
loftiest sense of honour, the greatest liberality, and all the good
qualities of which their situation demands the exercise."[142] That
the condition of woman, or her relative independence, is no safe gauge
of the general culture of a nation, also appears from a comparison
between many of the lower races and the peoples of archaic civilisation.
[Footnote 141: Fritsch, _Die Eingeborenen Süd-Afrika's_, p. 444.]
[Footnote 142: Lewis and Clarke, _op. cit._ p. 441.]
In China the condition of woman has always been inferior to that of
man, and no generous sentiment tending to the amelioration of her
social position has ever come from the Chinese sages.[143] Her
children must pay her respect, but she in her turn owes to her husband
the subjection of a child;[144] a wife is an infinitely less important
personage than a mother in the Chinese social scale.[145] The husband
has certainly not absolute power over his wife: he may not kill her,
nor sell her without her consent,[146] nor even divorce her, except
for certain causes specified by law.[147] But these causes are very
elastic; {648} it is said that "when a woman has any quality that is
not good, it is but just and reasonable to turn her out of
doors."[148] And in a book containing the cream of all the moral
writings of the Chinese, and intended chiefly for children, we
read:--"Brothers are like hands and feet. A wife is like one's
clothes. When clothes are worn out, we can substitute those that are
new. When hands and feet are cut off, it is difficult to obtain
substitutes for them."[149] A woman, on the other hand, cannot obtain
legal separation on any account.[150] Confucius says that "man is the
representative of Heaven, and is supreme over all things. Woman yields
obedience to the instructions of man, and helps to carry out his
principles. On this account she can determine nothing of herself, and
is subject to the rule of the three obediences. When young, she must
obey her father and elder brother; when married, she must obey her
husband; when her husband is dead, she must obey her son."[151] In
Japan, also, a woman was formerly, in the eye of the law, a chattel
rather than a person. "Having all her life under her father's roof
reverenced her superiors, she is expected to bring reverence to her
new domicile, but not love. She must always obey but never be jealous.
She must not be angry, no matter whom her husband may introduce into
his household. She must wait upon him at his meals and must walk
behind him, but not with him. When she dies her children go to her
funeral, but not her husband."[152] In Japan a man might repudiate his
wife for the same reasons as in China,[153] and till the year 1873 a
wife could not obtain separation according to law.[154] However,
though the Japanese wife is "the first servant of the household,"
training and public opinion require that she should be treated with
respect, if the marriage be blessed {649} with children.[155] She is
addressed as "the honourable lady of the house," and her position is
said to be higher than in any other Oriental country.[156]
[Footnote 143: Legge, _Religions of China_, pp. 107, 108, 111.]
[Footnote 144: de Groot, _Religious System of China_, (vol. ii. Book)
i. 550.]
[Footnote 145: Giles, _Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio_,
i. 315, n. 3.]
[Footnote 146: Doolittle, _Social Life of the Chinese_, ii. 209.]
[Footnote 147: Medhurst, 'Marriage, Affinity, and Inheritance in
China,' in _Trans. Roy. As. Soc. China Branch_, iv. 25 _sq._ Gray,
_China_, i. 219. Müller, _Reise der Fregatte Novara_, Ethnographie,
p. 164.]
[Footnote 148: Navarette, 'Account of the Empire of China,' in Awnsham
and Churchill, _Collection of Voyages and Travels_, i. 73.]
[Footnote 149: _Indo-Chinese Gleaner_, i. 164.]
[Footnote 150: Gray, _op. cit._ i. 219.]
[Footnote 151: Legge, _Chinese Classics_, i. 103 _sq._]
[Footnote 152: Griffis, _Religions of Japan_, p. 124 _sq._]
[Footnote 153: Westermarck, _op. cit._ p. 525.]
[Footnote 154: Rein, _Japan_, p. 424 _sq._]
[Footnote 155: _Ibid._ p. 425.]
[Footnote 156: Norman, _The Real Japan_, p. 184. Griffis, _Religions
of Japan_, p. 318.]
From various quarters of the ancient world we hear of the rule that
the husband shall command and the wife obey. The Lord said to the
woman, "Thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over
thee."[157] How great the husband's power was among the Hebrews we do
not know exactly. He could divorce his wife if she did not please him
because he had "found some uncleanness in her,"[158] whereas a wife
could not legally separate from her husband.[159] In later times her
condition evidently improved.[160] From the old Jewish point of view
it is surely surprising to find Sirach putting the companionship of a
wife not only above that of a friend, but even above children.[161] In
the Talmud a husband is admonished to love his wife like himself and
to honour her more than himself,[162] though he should take care not
to be ruled by her;[163] and the wife also is authorised to demand a
divorce under certain circumstances, namely, if the husband refuses to
perform his conjugal duty, if he continues to lead a disorderly life
after marriage, if he proves impotent during ten years, if he suffers
from an insupportable disease, or if he leaves the country for ever.[164]
[Footnote 157: **_Genesis_, iii. 16.]
[Footnote 158: _Deuteronomy_, xxiv. 1.]
[Footnote 159: Josephus, _Antiquitates Romanæ_, xv. 7, 10. Keil,
_Manual of Biblical Archæology_, ii. 175.]
[Footnote 160: _Cf._ Klugmann, _Die Frau im Talmud_, p. 63 _sq._]
[Footnote 161: _Ecclesiasticus_, xl. 19, 23. _Cf._ Montefiore,
_Hibbert Lectures on the Religion of the Ancient Hebrews_, p. 491.]
[Footnote 162: Deutsch, _Literary Remains_, p. 56.]
[Footnote 163: _Beza_, fol. 32 B, quoted by Katz, _Der wahre
Talmudjude_, p. 114.]
[Footnote 164: Glasson, _Le mariage civil et le divorce_, p. 149 _sq._]
In the Zoroastrian Yasts a holy woman is defined as one who is "rich
in good thoughts, good words, and good deeds, well-principled, and
obedient to her husband," whereas the fiendish woman is
"ill-principled and disobedient to her husband."[165] According to
Brahmanic law, a woman must in childhood be subject to her father, in
youth {650} to her husband, when her lord is dead to her sons; "a
woman must never be independent."[166] Not even in her own house is
she allowed to do anything independently.[167] Him to whom her father
may give her, or her brother with the father's permission, she shall
obey as long as he lives.[168] She must never do anything that might
displease him;[169] even though he be destitute of virtue, or
unfaithful to her, "a husband must be constantly worshipped as a god
by a faithful wife."[170] A wife who shows disrespect to a husband who
is addicted to some evil passion, is a drunkard, or diseased, shall be
deserted for three months, and be deprived of her ornaments and
furniture.[171] If a wife obeys her husband, she will for that reason
alone be exalted in heaven;[172] but by violating her duty towards
him, she is disgraced in this world, and after death she enters the
womb of a jackal, and is punished with disease for her sin.[173] There
is no indication that a woman can obtain legal separation on any
account, though she may with impunity "show aversion" towards a mad or
outcast husband, a eunuch, one destitute of manly strength, or one
afflicted with such diseases as punish crimes.[174] Again, if she is
sold or repudiated by her husband, she can never become the legitimate
wife of another who may have bought or received her after she was
repudiated.[175] But the husband is not allowed to divorce her
indiscriminately. A wife who drinks spirituous liquor, is of bad
conduct, rebellious, quarrelsome, diseased, mischievous, or wasteful,
may at any time be superseded by another wife; a barren one may be
superseded in the eighth year; one whose children all die, in the
tenth; one who bears daughters only, in the eleventh; whereas a sick
wife who is kind to her husband and virtuous in her conduct, may be
superseded only with her own consent, and must never be {651}
disgraced.[176] The rule, "Let mutual fidelity continue until death,"
may be considered the summary of the highest law for husband and
wife;[177] women must be honoured and adorned by husbands who desire
their own welfare.[178] Various passages in the Mahabharata and
Ramayana indicate that women in India were subjected to less social
restraints in former days than they are at present according to the
rules of Brahmanism, and even enjoyed considerable liberty;[179] and
the Vedic singers know no more tender relation than that between the
husband and his willing, loving wife, who is praised as "his home, the
darling abode and bliss in his house."[180] Yet it is noteworthy that
goddesses play a very insignificant part in the Veda.[181] In this
respect the Pantheon of the Vedic people essentially differs from that
of the ancient Egyptians,[182] a difference which may be due to the
remarkably high position which woman seems to have occupied in Egypt.[183]
[Footnote 165: _Yasts_, xxii. 18, 36. _Cf._ _Dînâ-î Maînôg-î Khirad_,
xxxix. 38 _sq._]
[Footnote 166: _Laws of Manu_, v. 148. _Cf._ _ibid._ ix. 2 _sq._]
[Footnote 167: _Ibid._ v. 147.]
[Footnote 168: _Ibid._ v. 151.]
[Footnote 169: _Ibid._ v. 156.]
[Footnote 170: _Ibid._ v. 154.]
[Footnote 171: _Ibid._ ix. 78.]
[Footnote 172: _Ibid._ v. 155. _Cf._ _ibid._ ix. 29.]
[Footnote 173: _Ibid._ v. 164; ix. 30.]
[Footnote 174: _Ibid._ ix. 79.]
[Footnote 175: _Ibid._ ix. 46. See also the note in Bühler's
translation, _Sacred Books of the East_, xxv. 335.]
[Footnote 176: _Laws of Manu_, ix. 80 _sqq._]
[Footnote 177: _Ibid._ ix. 101.]
[Footnote 178: _Ibid._ iii. 55 _sqq._]
[Footnote 179: Zimmer, _Altindisches Leben_, p. 316 _sqq._ Monier
Williams, _Indian Wisdom_, p. 437 _sq._]
[Footnote 180: Kaegi, _Rigveda_, p. 15.]
[Footnote 181: Macdonell, _Vedic Mythology_, p. 124 _sq._]
[Footnote 182: Maspero, _Dawn of Civilisation_, p. 101 _sq._]
[Footnote 183: _Ibid._ p. 52. Maspero, _Life in Ancient Egypt and
Assyria_, p. 11. Amélineau _L'évolution des idées morales dans
l'Égypte Ancienne_, p. 68 _sqq._ Flinders Petrie, _Religion and
Conscience in Ancient Egypt_, p. 131 _sq._ Brugsch, _Aegyptologie_,
p. 61 _sq._]
In Greece, also, a wife appears to have been a more influential and
independent personage in ancient times, in Homeric society, than she
became afterwards.[184] In the historic age her position was simply
that of the domestic drudge; her virtues were reduced to the
maintenance of good order in her household and obedience to her
husband; her greatest ornament was silence.[185] Aristotle, always a
faithful exponent of the most enlightened opinion of his age, gives
the following description of what he considers to be the ideal
relation of a woman to her husband:--"A good and perfect wife ought to
be mistress {652} of everything within the house. . . . But the
well-ordered wife will justly consider the behaviour of her husband as
a model of her own life, and a law to herself, invested with a divine
sanction by means of the marriage tie and the community of life. . . .
The wife ought to show herself even more obedient to the rein than if
she had entered the house as a purchased slave. For she has been
bought at a high price, for the sake of sharing life and bearing
children, than which no higher or holier tie can possibly exist."[186]
So also, according to Plutarch, the husband ought to rule his wife,
but by sympathy and goodwill, as the soul governs the body, not as a
master does a chattel.[187] The law invalidated whatever a husband did
by the counsel, or at the request, of his wife, whereas the wife, on
her part, could transact no business of importance in her own favour,
nor by will dispose of more than the value of a bushel of barley.[188]
Yet whatever may have been the exact compass of the husband's power in
Greece, it was not unlimited. At Athens a woman could demand divorce
if she was ill-treated by her husband, in which case she merely had to
announce her wishes before the archon.[189]
[Footnote 184: Hermann-Blümner, _Lehrbuch der griechischen
Privatalterthümer_, p. 64 _sqq._ Mahaffy, _Social Life in Greece_, p. 53.]
[Footnote 185: Dickinson, _Greek View of Life_, p. 161. Döllinger,
_The Gentile and the Jew_, ii. 234. 'State of Female Society in
Greece,' in _Quarterly Review_, xxii. 172 _sqq._]
[Footnote 186: Aristotle, _[OE]conomica_, i. 7. _Cf._ _Idem_, _De
animalibus historia_, ix. 1. 2 _sqq._]
[Footnote 187: Plutarch, _Conjugalia præcepta_, 33.]
[Footnote 188: Isaeus, _Oratio de Aristarchi hereditate_, 10, p. 259.
Döllinger, _op. cit._ ii. 234.]
[Footnote 189: Glasson, _Le mariage civil et le divorce_, p. 152 _sq._
Meier and Schömann, _Der attische Process_, p. 512.]
In Rome, in ancient times, the power which the father possessed over
his daughter was generally, if not always,[190] by marriage
transferred to the husband.[191] When marrying a woman passed in
_manum viri_, as a wife she was _filiæ loco_, that is, in law she was
her husband's daughter.[192] And since the Roman house-father
originally had the _jus vitæ necisque_ over his children, the husband
naturally had the same power over his wife. But from her being
destitute of all legal rights we must not conclude that she was {653}
treated with indignity. On the contrary, she generally had a respected
and influential position in the family;[193] and though the husband
could repudiate her at will, it was said that for five hundred and
twenty years _a condita urbe_ there was no such thing as a divorce in
Rome.[194] As Mr. Bryce points out, we cannot doubt that the wide
power which the law gave to the husband "was in point of fact
restrained within narrow limits, not only by affection, but also by
the vigilant public opinion of a comparatively small community."[195]
Gradually, however, marriage with _manus_ fell into disuse, and was,
under the Empire, generally superseded by marriage without _manus_, a
form of wedlock which conferred on the husband hardly any authority at
all over his wife. Instead of passing into his power, she remained in
the power of her father; and since the tendency of the later law, as
we have seen, was to reduce the old _patria potestas_ to a nullity,
she became practically independent.[196]
[Footnote 190: Rossbach, _Römische Ehe_, p. 64. Maine, _Ancient Law_,
p. 155.]
[Footnote 191: Or, properly speaking, to the husband's father, if he
was still alive (Rossbach, _op. cit._ p. 11).]
[Footnote 192: Leist, _Alt-arische Juris Civile_, i. 175. Maine, _op.
cit._ p. 155.]
[Footnote 193: Rossbach, _op. cit._ pp. 36, 117.]
[Footnote 194: Valerius Maximus, ii. 1 (_De matrimoniorum ritu_),
Aulus Gellius, _Noctes Atticæ_, iv. 3. 1.]
[Footnote 195: Bryce, _Studies in History and Jurisprudence_, ii. 389.]
[Footnote 196: Rossbach, _op. cit._ pp. 30, 42. Maine, _op. cit._ p.
155 _sq._ Friedlaender, _Darstellungen aus der Sittengeschichte Roms_,
i. 252 _sqq._]
This remarkable liberty granted to married women, however, was only a
passing incident in the history of the family in Europe. From the very
first Christianity tended to narrow it. Already the latest Roman law,
so far as it is touched by the Constitutions of the Christian
Emperors, bears some marks of a reaction against the liberal doctrines
of the great Antonine jurisconsults, who assumed the equality of the
sexes as a principle of their code of equity.[197] And this tendency
was in a formidable degree supported by Teutonic custom and law. Among
the Teutons a husband's authority over his wife was the same as a
father's over his unmarried daughter.[198] This power, which under
certain circumstances gave the husband a right to kill, sell, or
repudiate his wife,[199] undoubtedly {654} contained much more than
the Church could approve of, and so far she has helped to ameliorate
the condition of married women in Teutonic countries. But at the same
time the Church is largely responsible for those heavy disabilities
with regard to personal liberty, as well as with regard to property,
from which they have suffered up to recent times. The systems, says
Sir Henry Maine, "which are least indulgent to married women are
invariably those which have followed the Canon Law exclusively, or
those which, from the lateness of their contact with European
civilisation, have never had their archaisms weeded out."[200]
[Footnote 197: Maine, _op. cit._ pp. 156, 154.]
[Footnote 198: Brunner, _Deutsche Rechtsgeschichte_, i. 75. Stemann,
_Den danske Retshistorie indtil Christian V.'s Lov_, p. 323.]
[Footnote 199: Grimm, _Deutsche Rechtsalterthümer_, p. 450 _sq._
Brunner, _op. cit._ i. 75. Schröder, _Lehrbuch der deutschen
Rechtsgeschichte_, p. 303.]
[Footnote 200: Maine, _op. cit._ p. 159.]
Christianity enjoins a husband to love his wife as his own body,[201]
to do honour unto her as unto the weaker vessel.[202] However, "man is
not of the woman; but the woman of the man. Neither was the man
created for the woman; but the woman for the man. For this cause ought
the woman to have power on her head."[203] The husband is the head of
the wife, as Christ is the head of the church; hence, "as the church
is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in
every thing."[204] It is difficult to exaggerate the influence
exercised by a doctrine, so agreeable to the selfishness of men, and
so readily lending itself to be used as a sacred weapon against almost
any attempt to extend the rights of married women, as was this dictum
of St. Paul's. In an essay on the position of women among the early
Christians Principal Donaldson writes, "In the first three centuries I
have not been able to see that Christianity had any favourable effect
on the position of women, but, on the contrary, that it tended to
lower their character and contract the range of their activity."[205]
And in more modern times Christian orthodoxy has constantly been
opposed to the doctrine which once sprang up in pagan {655} Rome and
is nowadays supported by a steadily growing number of enlightened men
and women, that marriage should be a contract on the footing of
perfect equality between husband and wife.
[Footnote 201: _Ephesians_, v. 28.]
[Footnote 202: _1 Peter_, iii. 7.]
[Footnote 203: _1 Corinthians_, xi. 8 _sqq._ _Cf._ _Timothy_,
ii. 11 _sqq._]
[Footnote 204: _Ephesians_, v. 23 _sq._]
[Footnote 205: Donaldson, 'Position of Women among the Early
Christians,' in _Contemporary Review_, lvi. 433.]
* * * * *
The position of married women among the various peoples on earth
depends on such a variety of circumstances that it would be impossible
to enumerate them all. We shall here consider only the most
important.
A few words must first be said about the hypothesis that the social
_status_ of women is connected with the system of tracing descent. Dr.
Steinmetz has tried to show that the husband's authority over his wife
is, broadly speaking, greater among those peoples who reckon kinship
through the father than among those who reckon kinship through the
mother only.[206] The cases examined by Dr. Steinmetz, however, are
too few to allow of any general conclusions, and the statements
concerning the husband's rights are commonly so indefinite and so
incomplete that I think the evidence would be difficult to produce,
even if the investigation were based on a larger number of facts.
Besides, the paternal and maternal systems of descent are often so
interwoven with each other among one and the same people, that it may
equally well be referred to the one class as to the other[207]--a
difficulty which Dr. Steinmetz must surely have felt in his attempt to
treat the subject statistically. There is, moreover, the weak point of
the statistical method generally, the question of selecting
ethnographical units, which I have discussed in another place.[208]
How, for instance, are we to deal with the various tribes of
Australia? They can certainly not, all in a lump, be counted as one
single unit; among some of them the maternal system prevails, among
others the paternal. But then, shall we reckon each tribe as one {656}
unit by itself, or, if not, into how many groups shall we divide them?
When I compare with each other peoples of the same race, at the same
stage of culture, living in the same neighbourhood, under similar
conditions of life, but differing from one another in their method of
reckoning kinship, I do not find that the prevalence of the one or the
other line of descent conspicuously affects the husband's authority.
Nothing of the kind has been noticed in Australia, nor, so far as I
know, in India, where the paternal system among many of the aboriginal
tribes is combined with great, or even extraordinary, rights on the
part of the wife. Among the West African Negroes the position of women
is, to all appearance, no less honourable in tribes like the Ibos,
among whom inheritance runs through males, than in tribes which admit
inheritance through females only;[209] and of the Fulah, among whom
succession goes from father to son,[210] Mr. Winwood Reade observes
that their women are "the most tyrannical wives in Africa," knowing
"how to make their husbands kneel before their charms, and how to
place their little feet upon them."[211] But we have reason to believe
that when the man, on marrying, quits his home and goes to live with
his wife in the house or community of her father, his authority over
his wife is commonly more or less impaired by the presence of her
father or kinsfolk.[212] In Sumatra, in the mode of marriage called
_ambel anak_, he lives with his father-in-law in a state between that
of a son and that of a debtor.[213] But it should be noticed that
neither his living with the family of his wife, nor even his
dependence on her father, necessarily implies a total absence of
marital power. Among the Californian Yokuts, though the husband takes
up his abode in his {657} wife's or father-in-law's house, he is
expressly stated to have the power of life and death over her.[214]
So, also, in the Western islands of Torres Straits, though a man after
marriage usually left his own people and went to live with those of
his wife, he had complete control over her. "In spite of the wife
having asked her husband to marry her, he could kill her should she
cause trouble in the house, and that without any penal consequence to
himself. The payment of a husband to his wife's father gave him all
rights over her, and at the same time annulled those of her father or
her family."[215]
[Footnote 206: Steinmetz, _Ethnologische Studien zur ersten
Entwicklung der Strafe_, ii. ch. 7.]
[Footnote 207: _Cf._ Westermarck, _op. cit._ p. 99 _sqq._]
[Footnote 208: _Idem_, 'Méthode pour la recherche des institutions
préhistoriques à propos d'un ouvrage du professeur Kohler,' in _Revue
Internationale de Sociologie_, v. 451.]
[Footnote 209: Ratzel, _op. cit._ iii. 124.]
[Footnote 210: Waitz, _op. cit._ ii, 469.]
[Footnote 211: Reade, _Savage Africa_, p. 452.]
[Footnote 212: See Mazzarella, _La condizione giuridica del marito
nella famiglia matriarcale_, _passim_; Grosse, _Die Formen der
Familie_, p. 76; Wilkes, _U.S. Exploring Expedition_, iv. 447 (Spokane
Indians). It seems, however, that Dr. Mazzarella in several cases
infers the husband's complete subjection to his father-in-law from
statements in which such a subjection is not really implied.]
[Footnote 213: Marsden, _History of Sumatra_, p. 262.]
[Footnote 214: Powers, _Tribes of California_, p. 382.]
[Footnote 215: Haddon, _Head-Hunters_, p. 160 _sq._]
In the first place, wives' subjection to their husbands is due to the
men's instinctive desire to exert power and to the natural inferiority
of women in such qualities of body and mind as are essential for
personal independence. Generally speaking, the men are their superiors
in strength and courage. They are therefore not only the protectors of
their wives, but also their masters.
In the sexual impulse itself there are elements which lead to
domination on the part of the man and to submission on the part of the
woman. In courtship, animal and human alike, the male plays the more
active, the female the more passive part. During the season of love
the males even of the most timid animal species engage in desperate
combats with each other for the possession of the female, and there
can be no doubt that our primeval human ancestors had, in the same
way, to fight for their wives; even now this kind of courtship is far
from being unknown among savages.[216] Moreover, the male pursues and
tries to capture the female, and she, after some resistance, finally
surrenders herself to him. The sexual impulse of the male is thus
connected with a desire to win the female, and the sexual impulse of
the female with a desire to be pursued and won by the male. In the
female sex there is consequently an instinctive appreciation of manly
strength and courage; this is found in most {658} women, and
especially in the women of savage races, who, like the females of the
lower Vertebrates, commonly give the preference to "the most vigorous,
defiant, and mettlesome male."[217] And woman enjoys the display of
manly force even when it turns against herself. It is said that among
the Slavs of the lower class the wives feel hurt if they are not
beaten by their husbands; that the peasant women in some parts of
Hungary do not think they are loved by their husbands until they have
received the first box on the ear; that among the Italian Camorrists a
wife who is not beaten by her husband regards him as a fool.[218] Dr.
Havelock Ellis believes that the majority of women would probably be
prepared to echo the remark made by a woman in front of Rubens's 'Rape
of the Sabines,' "I think the Sabine women enjoyed being carried off
like that."[219] The same judicious student of the psychology of sex
observes:--"While in men it is possible to trace a tendency to inflict
pain, or the simulacrum of pain, on the women they love, it is still
easier to trace in women a delight in experiencing physical pain when
inflicted by a lover, and an eagerness to accept subjection to his
will. Such a tendency is certainly normal. To abandon herself to her
lover, to be able to rely on his physical strength and mental
resourcefulness, to be swept out of herself and beyond the control of
her own will, to drift idly in delicious submission to another and
stronger will--this is one of the commonest aspirations in a young
woman's intimate love-dreams."[220]
[Footnote 216: Westermarck, _op. cit._ p. 159 _sqq._]
[Footnote 217: Westermarck, _op. cit._ p. 255 _sq._]
[Footnote 218: Havelock Ellis, _Studies in the Psychology of Sex_,
'Analysis of the Sexual Impulse,' &c. p. 66 _sq._]
[Footnote 219: _Ibid._ p. 75.]
[Footnote 220: _Ibid._ p. 74.]
But although a certain degree of submissiveness comes within the
normal limits of female love, though "a woman may desire to be forced,
to be roughly forced, to be ravished away beyond her own will." she
all the time only desires to be forced towards those things which are
essentially agreeable to her.[221] If the man's domination is carried
beyond those limits, it is no longer enjoyed by the {659} woman, but
is felt as a burden, and may call forth resistance. In extreme cases
of oppression, at any rate, the community at large would sympathise
with her, and the public resentment against the oppressor would
gradually result in customs or laws limiting the husband's rights. Yet
perfect impartiality is hardly to be expected from the community. The
men are the leaders of public opinion, and they have a tendency to
favour their own sex. On the other hand, the offended woman may count
upon the support of her fellow-sisters, and thus the women combined
may influence tribal habits and, ultimately, the rules of custom.
Among the Papuans of Port Moresby, for instance, "it is a rare
occurrence for a man to beat his wife, and he does not like to be
reminded of the fact if hasty temper has led him into this mistake.
The other women generally make a song about it, and sing it whenever
he appears; and as no one is so sensitive of ridicule as a New Guinean
savage, he will endure a great deal, even from a shrew wife, before he
attempts to lift his hand."[222] Among the West African Fulah, if a
man repudiates his wife, the women of the village attack him _en
masse_; "like the members of a priesthood, they hate but protect each
other."[223] We have, moreover, to consider that the children's
affection and regard for their mother gives her a power which is no
less real because it is not definitely expressed in custom or law. In
Oriental countries, for example, the mother is always an important
personage in the family. Children are afraid of their father but love
their mother, and when grown-up would certainly be ready to protect
her against a cruel husband.[224]
[Footnote 221: _Ibid._ p. 85.]
[Footnote 222: Nisbet, _A Colonial Tramp_, ii. 181 _sq._]
[Footnote 223: Reade, _Savage Africa_, p. 452. See also Möller,
Pagels, and Gleerup, _op. cit._ i. 171 (Lukungu); Munzinger,
_Ostafrikanische Studien_, p. 324 (Beni Amer).]
[Footnote 224: _Cf._ Burton, _Sindh Revisited_, i. 293; Urquhart,
_Spirit of the East_, ii. 265 _sq._; Doughty, _Arabia Deserta_, i.
239; Westermarck, 'Position of Woman in Early Civilisation,' in
_Sociological Papers_, [1.] p. 160.]
It has often been said that the position of women and the degree of
their dependence among a certain people are largely influenced by
economic conditions. Thus Mr. {660} Hale maintains that the condition
of women is "a question of physical comfort, and mainly of the
abundance or lack of food. . . . When men in their full strength
suffer from lack of the necessaries of existence, and are themselves
slaves to the rigours of the elements, their better feelings are
benumbed or perverted, like those of shipwrecked people famishing on a
raft. Under such circumstances the weaker members of the
community--women, children, the old, the sick--are naturally the chief
sufferers."[225] With reference to the North American Indians the
observation has been made that, where the women can aid in procuring
subsistence for the tribe, they are treated with more equality, and
their importance is proportioned to the share which they take in that
labour; whereas in places where subsistence is chiefly procured by the
exertions of the men, the women are considered and treated as burdens.
Thus, the position of women is exceptionally good in tribes living
upon fish and roots, which the women procure with the same expertness
as the men, whereas it is among tribes living by the chase, or by
other means in which women can be of little service, that we find the
sex most oppressed.[226] Dr. Grosse, again, emphasises the low
_status_ of women not only among hunters, but among pastoral tribes as
well. "The women," he says, "not being permitted to take part in the
rearing of cattle, and not being able to take part in war, possess
nothing which could command respect with the rude shepherd and
robber."[227] Among the lower agricultural tribes, on the other hand,
Dr. Grosse adds, the position of the female sex is often higher. The
cultivation of the ground mostly devolves on the woman, and among
peoples who chiefly subsist by agriculture it is not an occupation
which is looked down upon, as it is among nomadic tribes. This gives
the woman a {661} certain standing, owing to her importance as a
food-provider.[228]
[Footnote 225: Hale, 'Language as a Test of Mental Capacity,' in
_Jour. Anthr. Inst._ xxi. 427.]
[Footnote 226: Lewis and Clarke, _Travels to the Source of the
Missouri River_, p. 441. Waitz, _op. cit._ iii. 343. Bancroft, _Native
Races of the Pacific States_, i. 242 _sq._]
[Footnote 227: Grosse, _op. cit._ pp. 48, 49, 74, 75, 109 _sqq._]
[Footnote 228: _Ibid._ p. 182.]
In these generalisations there is no doubt a great deal of truth; but
they do not hold good universally or without modifications. Among
several peoples who subsist chiefly by the chase or the rearing of
cattle, the position of women is exceedingly good. To mention only one
instance out of many, Professor Vámbéry observes that among the
nomadic Kara-Kirghiz the female sex is treated with greater respect
than among those Turks who lead a stationary life and practise
agriculture.[229] Indeed, the general theory that women are more
oppressed in proportion as they are less useful, is open to doubt.
Commonly they are said to be oppressed by their savage husbands just
by being compelled to work too hard; and that work does not
necessarily give authority is obvious from the institution of slavery.
But at the same time the notion, prevalent in early civilisation, that
the one sex must not in any way interfere with the pursuits of the
other sex, may certainly, especially when applied to an occupation of
such importance as agriculture, increase the influence of those who
are engaged in it. Considering further that the cultivated soil is not
infrequently regarded as the property of the women who till it,[230]
it is probable that, in certain cases at least, the agricultural
habits of a people have had a favourable effect upon the general
condition of the female sex, and at the same time on the wife's
position in the family.
[Footnote 229: Vámbéry, _Das Türkenvolk_, p. 268.]
[Footnote 230: Grosse, _op. cit._ p. 159 _sq._]
The _status_ of wives is in various respects connected with the ideas
held about the female sex in general. Woman is commonly looked upon as
a slight, dainty, and relatively feeble creature, destitute of all
nobler qualities.[231] Especially among nations more advanced in
culture she is regarded as intellectually and morally vastly inferior
to man. In Greece, in the historic age, the latter recognised {662} in
her no other end than to minister to his pleasure or to become the
mother of his children. There was also a general notion that she was
naturally more vicious, more addicted to envy, discontent,
evil-speaking, and wantonness, than the man.[232] Plato classes women
together with children and servants,[233] and states generally that in
all the pursuits of mankind the female sex is inferior to the
male.[234] Euripides puts into the mouth of his Medea the remark that
"women are impotent for good, but clever contrivers of all evil."[235]
According to the Vedic singer, again, "woman's mind is hard to direct
aright, and her judgment is small."[236] To the Buddhist, women are of
all the snares which the tempter has spread for men the most
dangerous; in women are embodied all the powers of infatuation which
bind the mind of the world.[237] The Chinese have a saying to the
effect that the best girls are not equal to the worst boys.[238] Islam
pronounces the general depravity of women to be much greater than that
of men.[239] According to Muhammedan tradition, the Prophet said:--"I
have not left any calamity more hurtful to man than woman. . . . O
assembly of women, give alms, although it be of your gold and silver
ornaments; for verily ye are mostly of Hell on the Day of
Resurrection."[240] The Hebrews represented woman as the source of
evil and death on earth:--"Of the woman came the beginning of sin, and
through her we all die."[241] This notion passed into Christianity.
Says St. Paul, "Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived
was in the transgression."[242] Tertullian maintains that a woman
should go about in humble garb, mourning and repentant, in order to
expiate that which she derives from Eve, the ignominy {663} of the
first sin, and the odium attaching to her as the cause of human
perdition. "Do you not know," he exclaims, "that you are each an Eve?
The sentence of God on this sex of yours lives in this age; the guilt
must of necessity live too. You are the devil's gateway; you are the
unsealer of that [forbidden] tree; you are the first deserter of the
divine law; you are she who persuaded him whom the devil was not
valiant enough to attack. You destroyed so easily God's image, man. On
account of your desert--that is, death--even the Son of God had to
die."[243] At the Council of Mâcon, towards the end of the sixth
century, a bishop even raised the question whether woman really was a
human being. He answered the question in the negative; but the
majority of the assembly considered it to be proved by Scripture that
woman, in spite of all her defects, yet was a member of the human
race.[244] However, some of the Fathers of the Church were careful to
emphasise that womanhood only belongs to this earthly existence, and
that on the day of resurrection all women will appear in the shape of
sexless beings.[245]
[Footnote 231: Crawley, _The Mystic Rose_, p. 204 _sq._]
[Footnote 232: Dickinson, _op. cit._ p. 159. Döllinger, _op. cit._
ii. 234.]
[Footnote 233: Plato, _Respublica_, iv. 431.]
[Footnote 234: _Ibid._ v. 455.]
[Footnote 235: Euripides, _Medea_, 406 _sqq._]
[Footnote 236: _Rig-Veda_, viii. 33. 17.]
[Footnote 237: Oldenburg, _Buddha_, p. 165. _Cf._ Kern, _Manual of
Indian Buddhism_, p. 69.]
[Footnote 238: Smith, _Proverbs of the Chinese_, p. 265.]
[Footnote 239: Lane, _Arabian Society_, p. 219. _Cf._ Doughty, _Arabia
Deserta_, i. 238.]
[Footnote 240: Lane-Poole, _Speeches of Mohammad_, pp. 161, 163.]
[Footnote 241: _Ecclesiasticus_, xxv. 24.]
[Footnote 242: _1 Timothy_, ii. 14.]
[Footnote 243: Tertullian, _De cultu f[oe]minarum_, i. 1 (Migne,
_Patrologiæ cursus_, i. 1305). See also Laurent, _Études sur
l'histoire de l'humanité_, iv. 113.]
[Footnote 244: Gregory of Tours, _Historia Francorum_, viii. 20.]
[Footnote 245: St. Hilar., _Commentarius in Matthæum_, xxiii. 4
(Migne, _op. cit._ ix. 1045 _sq._). St. Basil, _Homilia in Psalmum
cxiv._ 5 (Migne, _op. cit._ Ser. Graeca, xxix. 488).]
Progress in civilisation has exercised an unfavourable influence on
the position of woman by widening the gulf between the sexes, as the
higher culture was almost exclusively the prerogative of the men.
Moreover, religion, and especially the great religions in the world,
have contributed to the degradation of the female sex by regarding
woman as unclean. During menstruation, or when with child, or at
child-birth, she is considered to be polluted, to be charged with
mysterious baneful energy, which is a danger to all around her.[246]
The cause of this notion seems to lie in the {664} superstitious dread
of those marvellous processes which then take place, and it reaches
its height where there is appearance of blood.[247] On such occasions
woman is shunned not only by men, but in an even higher degree by
gods, for the obvious reason that contact with the unclean woman would
injure or destroy their holiness. Indeed, the danger is considered so
great, that many religions regard women as defiled not only
temporarily, but permanently, and on that ground exclude them from
religious worship.
[Footnote 246: Ploss-Bartels, _Das Weib_, i. 420 _sqq._; ii. 10
_sqq._, 402 _sqq._ Frazer, _Golden Bough_, i. 325 _sqq._; iii. 222
_sqq._ Crawley, _op. cit._ p. 165 _sqq._; Mathew, _Eaglehawk and
Crow_, p. 144 (Australian aborigines), de Rochas, _Nouvelle
Calédonie_, p. 283. Mooney, 'Myths of the Cherokee,' in _Ann. Rep.
Bur. Ethn._ xix. 469. Sumner, in _Jour. Anthr. Inst._ xxxi. 96
(Jakuts). Georgi, _Russia_, iii. 25 _sq._ (Samoyedes), 245, _sq._
(Shamanists of Siberia generally); &c.]
[Footnote 247: Professor Durkheim maintains ('La prohibition de
l'inceste et ses origines,' in _L'année sociologique_, i. especially
p. 48 _sqq._) that the origin of the occult powers attributed to the
feminine organism is to be found in primitive ideas concerning blood,
any kind of blood, not only menstrual, being the object of similar
feelings among savages and barbarians. Mr. Crawley justly remarks
(_op. cit._ p. 212) that there is no flux of blood during pregnancy,
when woman is regularly taboo; that her hair, nail-parings, and
occupations can hardly be avoided from a fear of her blood; and that
there is also the female side of the question to be taken into
account.]
In the Society Islands a woman was forbidden to touch whatever was
presented as an offering to the gods, so as not to pollute it.[248] In
Melanesia women are generally excluded from religious rites.[249]
Among the Shamanists of Siberia women "are interdicted the worship of
the deities, and dare not pass round the common hearth of their
habitations, because fire is sacred to the gods."[250] The women of
the Voguls are generally prohibited from approaching idols or holy
places.[251] A Votyak woman may not be present at the sacrifices made
to the _lud_, or evil spirit.[252] Among the Lapps a woman was not
allowed to touch a _noaid_'s, or wizard's, drum; nor, as a rule, to
take part in sacrificial rites; nor even to look in the direction of a
place where sacrifices were offered.[253] Among the Ainos of Japan,
"though a woman may prepare a divine offering, she may not offer it. . . .
Accordingly, women are never allowed to pray, or to take any part
in any religious {665} exercise."[254] In China women are not allowed
to go and worship in the temples.[255]
[Footnote 248: Ellis, _Polynesian Researches_, i. 129. _Cf._ Wegener,
_Geschichte der christlichen Kirche auf dem Gesellschafts-Archipel_,
p. 181.]
[Footnote 249: Codrington, _Melanesians_, p. 127.]
[Footnote 250: Georgi, _op. cit._ iii. 245. _Cf._ _ibid._ iii. 25.]
[Footnote 251: Abercromby, _Pre- and Proto-historic Finns_, i. 181.]
[Footnote 252: Wichmann, _Tietoja Votjaakkien Mytologiiasta_, p. 17.
See also _ibid._ p. 27.]
[Footnote 253: von Düben, _Lappland och Lapparne_, p. 276. Friis,
_Lappisk Mythologi_, p. 147.]
[Footnote 254: Howard, _op. cit._ p. 195.]
[Footnote 255: _Indo-Chinese Gleaner_, iii. 156.]
In ancient Nicaragua women were held unworthy to perform any duty
in connection with the temples, and were immolated outside the temple
ground of the large sanctuaries, and even their flesh was unclean food
for the high priest, who accordingly ate only the flesh of males.[256]
In Mexico, although some women were employed in the immediate service
of the temples, they were entirely excluded from the office of
sacrificing, and the higher dignities of the priesthood.[257]
[Footnote 256: Bancroft, _op. cit._ iii. 494.]
[Footnote 257: Clavigero, _History of Mexico_, i. 274 _sq._]
According to the sacred books of India, "women are considered to
have no business with the sacred texts";[258] and, being destitute of
the knowledge of Vedic texts, they "are as impure as falsehood itself,
that is a fixed rule."[259] Although, according to a Vedic ordinance
mentioned in the Laws of Manu, husband and wife ought to perform
religious rites together,[260] they have, among the present Hindus, no
religious life in common; the women are not allowed to repeat the
Veda, or to go through the morning and evening Sandhy[=a]
services.[261] If a woman, a dog, or a Sûdra, touch a consecrated
image, its godship is destroyed; the ceremonies of deification must
therefore be performed afresh, whilst a clay image, if thus defiled,
must be thrown away. If women should worship before a consecrated
image, they must keep at a respectful distance from the idol.[262]
[Footnote 258: _Baudhâyana_, i. 5. 11. 7.]
[Footnote 259: _Laws of Manu_, ix. 18. _Cf._ _ibid._ ii. 66; iii. 121.]
[Footnote 260: _Ibid._ ix. 96.]
[Footnote 261: Monier Williams, _Br[=a]hmanism and Hind[=u]ism_,
p. 398.]
[Footnote 262: Ward, _View of the History, &c., of the Hindoos_, ii.
13, 36.]
Islam is chiefly a religion for men. Though Muhammed did not forbid
women to attend public prayers in a mosque, he pronounced it better
for them to pray in private, as the presence of females might inspire
in the men a different kind of devotion from that which is requisite
in a place dedicated to the worship of God.[263] Women are absolutely
excluded from many Muhammedan places of worship, and are frowned upon
if they venture to appear in others, at any rate while men are
there.[264]
[Footnote 263: Lane, _Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians_,
p. 94.]
[Footnote 264: Pool, _Studies in Mohammedanism_, p. 39 _sq._]
In Christian Europe, as ascetic ideas advanced, the women sat or
stood in the church apart from the men, and entered by a separate
door.[265] They were excluded from sacred functions. {666} In the
early Church, it is true, there were "deaconesses" and clerical
"widows," but their offices were merely to perform some inferior
services of the church;[266] and even these very modest posts were
open only to virgins or widows of a considerable age.[267] Whilst a
layman could in case of necessity administer baptism, a woman could
never, as it seems, perform such an act.[268] Nor was a woman allowed
to preach publicly in the church, either by the Apostle's rules or
those of succeeding ages;[269] and it was a serious complaint against
certain heretics that they allowed such a practice. "The heretic
women," Tertullian exclaims, "how wanton are they! they who dare to
teach, to dispute, to practise exorcisms, to promise cures, perchance,
also, to baptise!"[270] A Council held at Auxerre at the end of the
sixth century forbade women to receive the Eucharist into their naked
hands;[271] and in various Canons women were enjoined not to come near
to the altar while mass was celebrating.[272] To such an extent was
this opposition against women carried that the Church of the Middle
Ages did not hesitate to provide itself with eunuchs in order to
supply cathedral choirs with the soprano tones inhering by nature in
women alone.[273]
[Footnote 265: Donaldson, in _Contemporary Review_, lvi. 438.]
[Footnote 266: Zscharnack, _Der Dienst der Frau in den ersten
Jahrhunderten der christlichen Kirche_, p. 99 _sqq._ Robinson,
_Ministry of Deaconesses_, _passim_.]
[Footnote 267: _Ibid._ pp. 113, 114, 125.]
[Footnote 268: Bingham, _Works_, iv. 45. Zscharnack, _op. cit._ p. 93.]
[Footnote 269: Bingham, _op. cit._ v. 107 _sqq._ Zscharnack, _op.
cit._ p. 73 _sqq._]
[Footnote 270: Tertullian, _De præscriptionibus adversus hæreticos_,
41 (Migne, _op. cit._ ii. 56). _Cf._ Tertullian, _De baptismo_, 17
(Migne, _op. cit._ i. 1219).]
[Footnote 271: _Concilium Autisiodorense_, A.D. 578, can. 36
(Labbe-Mansi, _Sacrorum Conciliorum collectio_, ix. 915).]
[Footnote 272: _Canones Concilii Laodiceni_, 44 (Labbe-Mansi, _op.
cit._ ii. 581, 589). 'Epitome canonum, quam Hadrianus I. Carolo Magno
obtulit, A.D. DCCLXXIII.,' in Labbe-Mansi, _op. cit._ xii. 868.
_Canons enacted under King Edgar_, 44 (_Ancient Laws and Institutes of
England_, p. 399).]
[Footnote 273: _Cf._ Gage, _Woman, Church and State_, p. 57.]
But the notion that woman is either temporarily or permanently
unclean, that she is a mysterious being charged with supernatural
energy, is not only a cause of her degradation; it also gives her a
secret power over her husband, which may be very considerable. During
my stay among the country people of Morocco, Arabs and Berbers alike,
I was often struck by the superstitious fear with which the women
imbued the men. They are supposed to be much better versed in magic,
and have also splendid opportunities to practise it to the detriment
{667} of their husbands, as they may easily bewitch the food they
prepare for them. For instance, the wife only needs to cut off a
little piece of a donkey's ear and put it into the husband's food.
What happens? By eating that little piece the husband will, in his
relations to his wife, become just like a donkey; he will always
listen to what she says, and the wife will become the ruler of the
house. I also believe that the men on purpose abstain from teaching
the women prayers, so as not to increase their supernatural
power.[274] In the Arabian Desert men are likewise afraid of their
women "with their sly philters and maleficent drinks."[275] In Dahomey
"the husband may not chastise or interfere with his wife whilst the
fetish is 'upon' her, and even at other times the use of the rod might
be dangerous."[276] Women, and especially old ones, are very
frequently regarded as experts in magic. [277] Among the ancient
Arabs,[278] Babylonians,[279] and Peruvians,[280] as in Europe during
the Middle Ages and later, the witch appeared more frequently than the
male sorcerer. So, also, in the Government of Tomsk in Southern
Siberia, native sorceresses are much more numerous than wizards;[281]
and among the Californian Shastika all, or nearly all, of the {668}
shamans are women.[282] The curses of women are greatly feared. In
Morocco it is considered even a greater calamity to be cursed by a
Shereefa, or female descendant of the Prophet, than to be cursed by a
Shereef. According to the Talmud, the anger of a wife destroys the
house;[283] but, on the other hand, it is also through woman that
God's blessings are vouchsafed to it.[284] We read in the Laws of
Manu:--"Women must be honoured and adorned by their fathers, brothers,
husbands, and brothers-in-law, who desire their own welfare. Where
women are honoured, there the gods are pleased; but where they are not
honoured, no sacred rite yields rewards. Where the female relations
live in grief, the family soon wholly perishes; but that family where
they are not unhappy ever prospers. The houses on which female
relations, not being duly honoured, pronounce a curse, perish
completely as if destroyed by magic. Hence men who seek their own
welfare should always honour women on holidays and festivals with
gifts of ornaments, clothes, and dainty food."[285] A Gaelic proverb
says, "A wicked woman will get her wish, though her soul may not see
salvation."[286] Closely connected with the belief in the magic power
of women, and especially, I think, in the great efficacy of their
curses, is the custom according to which a woman may serve as an
asylum.[287] In various tribes of Morocco, especially among the
Berbers and Jbâla, a person who takes refuge with a woman by touching
her is safe from his persecutor. Among the Arabs of the plains this
custom is dying out, probably owing to their subjection under the
Sultan's government; but amongst certain Asiatic Bedouins, the tribe
of Shammar, "a woman can protect any number of persons, or even of
tents."[288] {669} Among the Circassians "a stranger who intrusts
himself to the patronage of a woman, or is able to touch with his
mouth the breast of a wife, is spared and protected as a relation of
the blood, though he were the enemy, nay even the murderer of a
similar relative."[289] The inhabitants of Bareges in Bigorre have, up
to recent times, preserved the old custom of pardoning a criminal who
has sought refuge with a woman.[290]
[Footnote 274: We are told that among the Ainos of Japan women are
forbidden to pray, not only in conformity with ancestral custom, but
because the men are afraid of the prayers of the women in general, and
of their wives in particular. An old man said to Mr. Batchelor:--"The
women as well as the men used to be allowed to worship the gods and
take part in all religious exercises; but our wise honoured ancestors
forbade them to do so, because it was thought they might use their
prayers against the men, and more particularly against their husbands.
We therefore think that it is wiser to keep them from praying"
(Batchelor, _Ainu and their Folk-Lore_, p. 550 _sq._ Howard, _op.
cit._ p. 195). Among the Santals the men are careful not to divulge
the names of their household gods to their wives, for fear lest the
latter should acquire undue influence with the gods, become witches,
and "eat up the family with impunity when the protection of its gods
has been withdrawn" (Risley, _Tribes and Castes of Bengal_,
_Ethnographic Glossary_, ii. 232).]
[Footnote 275: Doughty, _Arabia Deserta_, ii. 384.]
[Footnote 276: Burton, _Mission to Gelele_, ii. 155.]
[Footnote 277: Ploss-Bartels, _op. cit._ ii. 664, 666 _sqq._ Mason,
_op. cit._ p. 255 _sqq._ Landtman, _Origin of Priesthood_, p. 198
_sq._ Angas, _Savage Life and Scenes in Australia and New Zealand_, i.
317 (Maoris). Connolly, 'Social Life in Fanti-land,' in _Jour. Anthr.
Inst._ xxvi. 150.]
[Footnote 278: Wellhausen, _Reste arabischen Heidentums_, p. 159.]
[Footnote 279: Jastrow, _Religion of Babylonia_, pp. 267, 342.]
[Footnote 280: Garcilasso de la Vega, _First Part of the Royal
Commentaries of the Yncas_, i. 60.]
[Footnote 281: Kostroff, quoted by Landtman, _op. cit._ p. 199.]
[Footnote 282: Powers, _Tribes of California_, p. 246.]
[Footnote 283: _Sota_, fol. 3 B, quoted by Katz, _Der wahre
Talmudjude_, p. 110 _sq._]
[Footnote 284: _Baba Meziah_, fol. 59 A, quoted _ibid._ p. 112.
Deutsch, _Literary Remains_, p. 56.]
[Footnote 285: _Laws of Manu_, iii. 55 _sqq._]
[Footnote 286: Carmichael, _Carmina Gadelica_, ii. 317.]
[Footnote 287: For some instances of this custom see Andree, 'Die
Asyle,' in _Globus_, xxxviii. 302; Bachofen, _Das Mutterrecht_, p. 420
(Basques).]
[Footnote 288: Layard, _Discoveries in the Ruins of Nineveh and
Babylon_, p. 318.]
[Footnote 289: Pallas, _Travels through the Southern Provinces of the
Russian Empire_, i. 404.]
[Footnote 290: Fischer, _Bergreisen_, i. 60.]
Yet another factor remains to be mentioned as a cause of the
subjection in which married women are held by many peoples of culture.
We have noticed that in archaic civilisation the father's power over
his children is extreme, that the State whilst weakening or destroying
the clan-tie strengthened the family-tie, and that the father was
invested with some part of the power which formerly belonged to the
clan.[291] This process must also have affected the _status_ of
married women. The husband's power over his wife is closely connected
with the father's power over his daughter; for, by giving her in
marriage, he generally transfers to the husband the authority which he
himself previously possessed over her as a paternal right.
[Footnote 291: _Supra_, ch. xxv. especially p. 627 _sq._]
In modern civilisation, on the other hand, we find, hand in hand with
the decrease of the father's power, a decrease of the husband's
authority over his wife. But the causes of the gradual emancipation of
married women are manifold. Life has become more complicated; the
occupations of women have become much more extensive; their influence
has expanded correspondingly, from the home and household to public
life. Their widened interests have interfered with that submissiveness
which is an original characteristic of their sex. Their greater
education has made them more respected, and has increased their
independence. Finally, the decline of the influence exercised by
antiquated religious ideas is removing what has probably been the most
persistent cause of the wife's subjection to her husband's
rule.