In some cases, this might be a necessary
precaution; for the absence of true affection; and the frequency of
domestic broils, rendered the wife an unsafe depositary of any
important family affair. The same causes often led the wife to
appropriate to her own foolish gratification any money of her
husband she could lay hands on, regardless of family necessities.
Women whose tastes led them to load themselves with beads, silver,
baser metal, and rude trinkets, would not be likely to expend money
very judiciously.
In 1835, the only Nestorian woman that knew how to read was Heleneh,
the sister of Mar Shimon; and when others were asked if they would
not like to learn, with a significant shrug they would reply, "I am
a woman." They had themselves no more desire to learn than the men
had to have them taught. Indeed, the very idea of a woman reading
was regarded as an infringement of female modesty and propriety.
It is a little curious, and shows how we adapt ourselves to our
situation, that the women were as unwilling to receive attention
from their husbands as they were to render it. Several years after
the arrival of Miss Fiske in Oroomiah, the wife of one of her
assistants visited the Seminary, and on leaving to return to her
village, the teacher, in the kindness of her heart, proposed to the
husband to go and assist her to carry the child.
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