EVERY- DAY LIFE OF INDIAN WOMEN. 51 



co-wives get on, but " a fairy for a co-wife is a devil " exhibits tlie 

 mutual relation forcibly and clearly as it usually is. And when 

 the rival wife brings forth the long-desired son, the barren wom- 

 an's cup of bitterness is full, and all her hatred towards him is, to 

 those who know the circumstances, well expressed in that most 

 sarcastic of sayings in any language, " The son of the co-wife." 

 No more words are wanting to the Indians to convey the expres- 

 sion of all uncharitableness. 



As to the hard lot of the childless widow, so much has been 

 said elsewhere, and so often, that I do not feel inclined to enlarge 

 upon it, especially as enforced widowhood is not nearly so general 

 as is usually made out by those who would deduce a moral from 

 Indian manners to the glorification of the habits of Christians. 

 It is often not prevalent among classes who conform generally to 

 the customs I have been mentioning, and circumstances make it 

 impossible among many that are not comparatively wealthy ; but 

 where it is the rule nothing can be more cruel, and, I feel justified 

 in using the strong term, more revolting. Take the case of the 

 widow from infancy : shorn of all that women value anywhere in 

 the world, dressed in coarse clothing, deprived of her ornamenst, 

 compelled to fast till health breaks down, made to subsist on the 

 coarsest of food, kept out of what amusements come in the way of 

 the rest of the household, forced into being the unpaid drudge of 

 the family, held to be the legitimate butt of the ill-nature of all, 

 considered fit only to amiise the children, openly called and taught 

 to think herself a creature of ill-omen — this being the cause of all 

 the rest of her sorrows — superstition has indeed nowhere else 

 shown more clearly its power to pervert the reason of man. How 

 much the women dread widowhood is exhibited to the full in the 

 fact that to call a woman a widow is to offer her a dire insult, and 

 from her earliest childhood a girl is taught to pray that she may 

 die while yet the red spot of coverture remains on her forehead. 

 In any case the fear of widowhood overshadows the Hindoo lady's 

 life, even though she hate her lord. 



However, it is no part of my business to tell a sensational tale, 

 nor do I wish to convey an impression that an Indian woman's 

 life is necessarily all unhappiness. Human nature in her case is 

 as capable of adapting itself to circumstances as elsewhere, and 

 since the ultimate gauge of permanent individual happiness is 

 suitability of temperament to immediate surroundings, many a 

 woman in India must be so constituted as to be quite content with 

 the life she is called upon to lead, and in fact to enjoy it. When 

 a girl is naturally sedate, yielding, and good-natured, of blunt 

 susceptibilities, limited aspirations, and strong religious emotions, 

 she will give in to her mother-in-law, avoid quarelling without 

 effort, follow the course of life laid down for her without demur. 



