Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1915-12-09
WOMEN OF OPPRESSED RACE
Armenians Are Full of Senti-
ment and Emotion.
Have Dramatic Ability and a strain
OF Unconscious Egotism II One
of the Effects Of Persecution
Sturdily Borne.

armenian women and girls, who are
much less known in this country than are
their husbands and brothers, have borne
a heavier fate than the women OF any 9TH
er Christian people. Through many gen.
erations, as far back as their traditions
run, they nave passed their lives. brought
up their children. and labored steadily
toward the upbuiiding Of their family for
tunes, under the continual threats OF pill
lage and massacre. What kind Of women
such a long history of suffering and In
security has evolved, is told in a study
Just prepared for the National Geographic
society by Hester Donaldson jenkins. who,
as a teacher in the near east and as a
lover of Armenia, has had the opportu-
nifty to look behind the veil Of the Arme-
man woman's apathy. She writes:
Armenian women are full of sentiment
and emotion, and unless they have beer
repressed by harsh experience they are
unrestrained in expression. AS students
they differ among themselves. ranging all
the way from dense stupidity to brilliance.
but averaging high In their studies.
When the home school was founded. its
first students were Armenians eager to
get an education, and for many years the
~ hit iiioSS -
the nationalities present. Scutari. where
the college was situated until 1t moved
across the Bosphorus last year, was ar
Armenian quarter, so that long after
Greeks and Bulgarians came in larger
numbers into the boarding colleges the
day scholars were predominantly Arme-
MAN.
Beneath expressionless masks which the
laVeraCa Armenian woman Wparc 10 all Of
the world that is strange to her. Miss
jenkins found that there lurked a spirit
of much more intense, violent and con-
Stunning sort than usual among the wom-
en- of those lands where family life runs
in better guarded and more peaceful
paths. illustrating the emotional nature
of the Armenian women Miss jenkins
tells:
When the news OF the death of a school,
mate reached one Of our dormitories. the
girls wept and even screamed with such
abandon that one of them became i'll and
had to go home. Yet under torture and
persecution these women have shown
marvellous patience and endurance.
The Armenians have dramatic ability
l we'll remember one strongly featured
Armenian girl who acted the double role
Of priest and king in a Sanscrit play. I
recall in that same year a pretty Arme-
Man girl who played the part Of Toinette
in lie Malade Im~aginaire" with moro
charm and p%iquancy than have ever
seen in any American production of that
classic.
A strain of unconscious egotism Is one
of the effects Of persecution sturdily
borne: Where there is so vigorous n ma
ltiOnal Drida some DerSOna1 copceit would
naturally follow That is not always the
case; some Of the most modest and hum
BILE Of women are among my Armenian
friends: but the characteristic expression
OF complacency that one often hears Is:
He is a fine man; he likes me-" Miss
jenkins, as commentary upon the effects
which the tragedy of the Armenian race
has had upon its women, describes the
following types of Armenian girl STU
dents. who are numbered among her
pupils:
Filore was a sparkling girl, with jet
black hair and shining eyes and teeth.
She was delightfully."- responsive in class.
although her quick appreciation was rath-
err shallow. She was always happy and
carefree. Her father was high in Turk
ish favor and she had apparently no con-
seriousness of her peoples sufferings.
Isabelle was another happy girl but Of
quite n different type. She was small
and plump. and maintained a position at
the head Of her class only by constant
hard work. One would never associate
her with tragedy in the remotest way.
But when in 1908 peoples tongues were
'oosed. the press freed, and people seemed
to wish to express their long pent-up emo
tiOng. Zahplle WrOtP a cOmDOSitiOn. She
began in her clear round hand, II have
always wanted to tell about my cousin
Mesrob. but / did not dare: now I can
speak," and there followed a horrible tale
OF persecution. including torture, and
death inflicted on an innocent young man.
Heigoohee was touching in her express
sion Of the joy that 1t gave her after the
revolution of 1905 to be able to say MY
country" for she had always felt so
lonely when among girls who had coun-
tries of their own. such as the English
and the Turkish girls.
One OF the sweetest souls ever knew
was Annitza. She was n Protestant from
one of the mission schools in Cilicia. She
was older than most of the girls, n woman
in character and suffering. She was very
delicate and unconsciously appealing and
absurdly grateful for any little thing that
was done for her. Her appreciation of
beauty was very great. Once I took her
y to see the wondrous mosque Sancta
Sophia. in Constantinople, with n class
of girls. She wandered off by herself,
) and when l found her she was sitting
quietly wiping the tears from her eyes,
because it was so beautiful" Annitza
was one OF three girls who came from
the district of Adana. where the massa-
cres took place in the spring of 1909. For
! several weeks we gave these girls n sep
arate place to eat and sit while waiting
! for news OF their loved ones. One day ]
! met Annitza In the corridor and uttered
a light word. Her face stopped me. and
said quickly. bad news, Annitza?"
She made a pitiful effort at self-control,
then said, "Oh, teacher. II of them" ami
despite che respect that keeps an oriental
girl from familiarities with a teacher,
threw her arms around my neck and wept.
And that was not the whole tale. The
next week added four more to the list
OF victims In her family. Patient Annit-
"a, with her soft pathetic eyes. always
seemed to me a type Of the Armenian VIC
tim.
Hrypslme was not a type AT all; she
was "A strangely individualized girl, but
D the product of suffering and revolution.
One would not have thought it to see he,