Page:Village life in Korea (1911).djvu/131

Rh often consisting of what has been left by the men of the house, out in the cook shed.

If she is blessed by the spirits and becomes the mother of a son, she will receive the congratulations of all her neighbors, and will ever after be known as the boy's mother; so that her husband will now call her Nam San's mother, or whatever the boy's name may be. She has now reached the height of her ambition, since she has a son by whose name she may be distinguished from the other women of the village.

In the eyes of the law of the land she is only a thing, and her husband may treat her as such. If he finds after his marriage, with the making of which he had nothing whatever to do, that he does not like her—mark you, I do not say love her, for this is not expected—he may send her away, swap her off, or sell her, as he likes. One of the very first reasons for ground for divorce is failure to become the mother of a son. Another cause is that of talking back at her mother-in-law.

The women of high class are not allowed to appear on the streets without covering themselves with a veil. This custom varies in different parts of the country, though in Seoul it has been until within the last few months adhered to most rigidly, in that no high-class woman appeared on the streets without a veil. In fact, high-class women are not supposed to walk on the streets at all, but must go in a closed sedan chair. This chair is a sort of highly decorated box just large enough to allow one to sit in. It is swung on two long poles and carried by two or four men, as the case