CHAPTER XIV
POLYGAMY IN TURKISH SOCIETY
A Turkish gentleman informs me that the serai may, in the near course of time, become quite rare and curious in his country. Monogamy is now considered "good form," and plural marriage is beginning to be regarded as old-fashioned. Turkey has always been very susceptible to alien influences. She has during later years, absorbed much of the spirit of the West; and Turks who have lived for some time in England or France, return to their land with a new perspective of social life and ideals.
The bulk of the population of Turkey is monogamous. It would be correct to state that the polygamists are an almost insignificant number, confined entirely to the rich class. Many men married to one wife keep mistresses in a second establishment; but the lords of the large harems are few.
The ownership of a serai imposes several severe obligations apart from the high cost. A Turk cannot follow the example of the West, where the "kept woman" can be repudiated and cast aside, even if she
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