WOMEN UNDER POLYGAMY
right hand is placed upon the hand of her husband, to show that she ought always to have the upper hand of her spouse.
Mirza Abu Taleb, a Persian writer, is very explicit in laying down rules for husbands. A man is ordered to give his wife money without stint, or her colour will fade, her cheeks become as saffron, and she will languish and pine. If she dies of grief, through her husband's meanness, harsh treatment, or neglect, her blood will be on his head. In the day of judgment the woman will claim from the man that which he has failed to provide for her. Even the day-labourer must give all his wages to his wife. Very considerable laxity is allowed to Persian women in the matters of fasting, ritual, and penance. A wife must have all the enjoyments and recreations that a husband can reasonably provide for her. It is often said the women in the East are at best the spoilt playthings of men. This is scarcely true of Persian women. Their ascendency in the home, in business affairs, and, to a certain extent, in society is beyond question.
The mother in Persia has almost supreme authority, and the wife is, in many respects, more than equal with the husband.
"The glories of the bride," writes Dr. Wills, "pale in the strong rays of the mother of the son of the house." In this country, as in the East generally,
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