Page:Village life in Korea (1911).djvu/197

Rh take lessons from their Korean sisters till they have learned how to do it in proper style.

The bride has never seen the groom, and does not see him now; her eyes are closed so she cannot. In the final preparation for the marriage her face has been powdered till it is as white as it is possible to make it, not one vestige of her color being left to appear. This white powder has been laid on and rubbed in till the face appears more like a piece of white china than that of a smiling bride. Did I say smiling? That certainly is not the word to be used here, for a Korean bride never smiles nor has any other expression on her face except the most stolid and inexpressible expression that one could well imagine. After the white powder has been well laid on and thoroughly rubbed in, the tint, or red paint, is put on. A round spot about the size of a dime is painted on each cheek and one in the center of the forehead a little above the eyes; the lips are also painted red. These spots are as red as scarlet, and stand out in striking contrast to the stolid white of the face. The eyes are then closed, and in some cases pasted shut, so that it is impossible for her to see anything. Likewise her mouth is closed; and while it is not pasted shut, it is ordered shut, as no Korean bride is supposed to speak a single word on the day of her marriage. Thus with her eyes pasted shut and her mouth closed she is led forth to her future lord and master, where by the help of the woman leading her she makes a bow, not simply of the head, but of the entire body, till the face almost touches the matting at her master's feet. This bow is re-