Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1891-08-01
Russian Women two Centuries Ago.

on the teao5irgs enG tfadi iaaa Of Byzantine
theology, wns oufeiy m5nas'i3 one. The
v rsuse O; the oister, isigh, prayer, chaIi s.,
ooediencs aod Industry, were the highest
virtues of q WomsD. The life Of the c.oisfer
was best suited toscreservs her purity. So
cially woman was n 1t an Independent being;
she was an inferior cieation, dependent on
her husband, for except ss a vile her eAist.
ence was scsrcely recognized. o. the thso-
retioal position Of woman, abundant proof
ia given in all the early didac'ic literature OF
Ras.is, ard especially In the Domostroi,
t6at curious manual OF household economy
written In the time of Ivan the Terrible.
The wife should be blindly oSedient In all
things, sad for her iauIrs should be- severely
whipped, t. cuga not in anger. Her duty is
60 keep the house, to look after ths food and
clothing. and TO see to the comfort OF her
husband; to bear children, but not TO edu'
cate them. Severity was ioculceted, and TO
piay with one's children was esteemed sin,
"a snare OF tie devil. The wife was bound
10 stay chief fq at home, and to be acquaint-
ed with nothing but household work. 10 all
questions on ou;side matters she was to az
swer that she did not know. II Was believed
that en- element ofeVi. lufked 10 the female
sex and even the most inncosnt sports be-
tween little Doys end girls, or social inter-
course between young men and women, was
severely reprehended. The Domostroi, and
even Pososhkof, as late as the lSsh century,
recommended father TO take bis cudgel
ard break the ribs of the SOD, whom be
found jestipg with girl. Traces OF tls
feeling with regard to women sre stir found
10 current proverbs. "a woman's hair s
long, her understanding .is Short" runs one
proverb, "The wits of women are Ike the
wildness of beasts" says another while
third says: "As horse by the bit, 20 muat
woman be governed by threats" The
collections OF popular stories and anecdotes
are full OF instances OF the innate wicked
neas and devijishnsss Of the female sex, with
references to all the weak or wicked women
Of sacred and profsne history. In the
"Grest Mirror" complied 10 the 18th century
we even find the obstiDacy OF women sXsm-
pli6ed by the we'll known anecdote OF the
drowning woman s.ill making with her fu-
gers the Sign OF SCISSORS"
Although this was the theoretical position
OF woman 10 Russian society, practically 10
small households, where women we're i'm
portant factors, there we're great disergeu-
cies from the strict rules Of Domostroi. In
more carefully guarded and restrained, and
in tho family Of the tssr the se-
cu,ion In the terem, OF women's apart
ments. was almost complete. This was In
part due TO supersltlou9 belief In WITCH
craft, the evil eye, and charms that might
affect the life, health or fertility OF the royal
race Neither the ts.rite5 nor the prinoe5ses
ever appeared openly In public; they
never went out except In oloeei litter or
carriage in church they stood behind
vell-msde, 1t is true, sometimes OF gauze-
end they usually timed their visits to the
churches aud monastsrles for the evening or
the early morning, and on these occasions
no ons was admitted except the immediate
attendants of the court. Won Meyerberg,
Austrian ambassador at Moscow In 1868,
writes that cut of q thousand courtiers, there
will hardly be found one who can boast that
he hes seen the tesriiss, or sny OF the eisters
or daughters of the tsar. Even their physi-
clans are not allowed to see them. When 1t
is necessary to call doctor for the tsaritss,
the windows are all darkened and be Ia
obliged to feel her pulee through piece OF
gauge, 30 as not to touch her bare band.
Even chance encou 1ters were severely pun.
ishsd 10 1874 two chamberlains, Dashkof
and Buturlln, on suddenly Turning corner
In one of the interior courts of the palace,
met the carriage Of the TsarIs.a Natalie,
who was going to prayers at a convent.
Their colleagues succeeded 10 getting out of
the way. Dsshkof and Burturin were ar
rested, exsmlned and deprived OF their of.
fices, but as the encounter was proved to be
purely fortuitous and unavoidable, they
were 10 few days restored to their rank.
aud yet this was during the reign ofA'e1ls,
who was far less strict than his predecessors.
- Life Of Peter the Great in Scri5ner.