The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1874-07-02
Icelandic Women.


| CornhH Magazine has an article of Ice
land, written by an observing English trav-
eler. We extract the following: manners
are simple in Iceland, as indeed in all the
/ Scandinavian countries; and all the simp-
Ter here because there is really no distinc-
tipn of rank. There is no title Of respect,
save Herra to the bishop and SRA to
priest: not even such title as Mr.. or Mrs.,
or esquire. If you 90 to call for lady you
tap at the door and ask If Ingihjorg or Val
geror is in; or, if you wish to give her fall
name, Ingihjorg Thorvaldsdottir. or Eiriks-
do.tir, or Bjarnariotsir (as the case may
te), for there is no title Of politeness to APP
ply. Her name, moreover, is her own
name, unchanged from birth to death; for
as there are no surnames or family names
among the Icelanders, bat only Christian
names, there is no reason for wife assum-
Ing her husbands name, ard she is Thor
valdsdottir after her marriage with Quo
mundr just as before, while her children
are GuOmundssOn and GuOmundsdottir.
Wien such CONCESSION j. made to the
rights of women, it is a little surprising to
find that she is iu any 9th er respect treated
as an inferior, not usually sitting down to
table with the men of the family, but wait
ing on them, and dining separately, 9th
erwise, however, women seem sufficiently
well of, having full rights of property, and
riding vigorously about the country wher-
ever they will; and we could not hear that
there was any movement for their emanci-
patton, or indr ed for social reform of any
kind, though, to be SIRE, imperfect knowl
edge of the language restricted our inqui
ries. In one regard, the women OF Iceland
have obtained completer equality than
receive exactly the same education as .he
men do. There are no schools in the island
naturally, as families live mostly dozen
miles apart; and instruction is therefore
given by the father to his sons and daugh-
tiers alike and together, the priest--where
there Is Il priest-somet times adding a little
Latin or Danish. Thus the girl learns all
her parents can teach her, and is as good
an arithmeticIan, and as familiar with the
Sagas, as her brothers. Accomplishments,
OF course, are pretty well out of the ques
ton; painting, not only from the difficulty
OF procuring the materials. but because
there is really nothing to paint; dancing
becauee you can seldom gather sufficient
ly large party, and have no rooms big
enough; instrumental music on account of
the impoSsitiIty of transporting a piano
over rocks and boys OF the back of a pony
Nevertheless, we found in remote house
Ia good wooden house, by the way), uCon
the coast, where we were Hospitality enter
tanned fer dav and night, not only piano,
but several young ladies who could play
exceIlentiy on it and guitlr, accompany
ing themselves to songs in four or five Ian
guages, the Swedish, as we thought, the
prettiest of all. They lived in the most
desUlate spot imaginable the sea roaring
in front long strand; inland, plain
of creary bog aud behind it, miles away,
grim sbapeless mountains. They had 10
neighbOrs within 10 or Is miles, and told
US they were often without a visitor for
months together. But they were as bright
and cheerful as possible; and though they
did not respond to the suggestion OF
dance, they sang and played to two of us
all evening long in the thy drawing room,
while the storm how led without: ana their
worthy father (who Was Il sort OF genera
merchant for that part of the ieiand) and
the lordleuteuant Of the county, who had
dropped in from his house 30 or 40 miles
off, brewed noble bowls of punch, and held
forth to our third comrace, in strange
mixture of tongues, upon the resources of
Iceland, and the prospects of opening hy
meaus of BIZ. fish capital, Il hourshing trade
in sulphur.