The following is from an article in the New York Observer and Chronicle entitled “Veiled Ladies in Syria” (1854). Unlike Mrs. Johnson’s nuanced depictions of veiling in the “Lady Writers on the East,” which has been included in this edition, “Veiled Ladies in Syria” (1854) presents troubling stereotypes about veiled Eastern ladies. The article begins by noting “another great difference between the general appearance in London and Damascus,” specifically that “in the Eastern city, you see not the bright joyous countenance of woman; she is deeply veiled” (“Veiled Ladies in Syria” 1). The writer, who appears to be male, is unsettled by the inability to discern female shapes. “In Egypt,” he continues, “she [woman] is enveloped from head to foot in a dark, and in Syria in a white sheet, which effectually obliterates all traces of shape, absolutely equalizes to the eye all ranks, ages, conditions, and suggests to the beholder the idea of a company of ghosts” (“Veiled Ladies in Syria” 1). The narrator is discomforted that he cannot see what lies beneath the veil—particularly that the veil obliterates all traces of the female figure and equalizes all women of all ages and classes and turns them into “a company of ghosts” (“Veiled Ladies in Syria” 1). “During the five years in the East, I never saw the face of a woman in the streets, nor did I ever see the face of a Mahommedan lady at all!” he exclaims, almost out of horror (“Veiled Ladies in Syria” 1). The writer recalls how, “I walked into the house of a Moslem on one occasion without having signified my approach, when the ladies, being unveiled raised such shouts of terror and indignations that I speedily made my way to the streets again” (“Veiled Ladies in Syria” 1). The narrator, unlike Mrs. Johnson, is not a woman and therefore does not have the privilege of seeing these veiled ladies in their private spaces; however, his claims as to never having seen lady’s face unveiled during his five years in the East seems to be exaggerated. Recall the image from “Lady Writers on the East” which depicts a woman in the streets with head covering but an unveiled face. Additionally, the tone of this piece becomes particularly troubling at the end when the narrator concludes: “Conceive now how ludicrous the streets of London would appear, if green, white, black, and grey turbans moved indiscriminately, instead of the present hats; and that all the ladies walking, or on donkey, instead of the present varieties of showy dress, beautiful bonnets, and smiling faces, presented only the appearance of headless ghosts clothed in white” (“Veiled Ladies in Syria” 1). The narrator critiques the veil for obscuring the female form and face from the male gaze. In this case, a male narrator presents a sensationalized East, in which no woman’s face is ever show and female bodies turn into “headless ghosts clothed in white”—a curious description to emphasize their “headlessness” (“Veiled Ladies in Syria” 1). The narrator is most troubled that their heads are covered, and thus they effectively become headless ghosts to the Western male gaze, which requires a view of womens’ fleshiness.
In order to provide a more nuanced reading of nineteenth-century veiling customs than the narrator provides, I have included two photographs of Middle Eastern veils and the women, who wear them to demonstrate what a “Eastern” women may have looked like to this narrator. The first image shows a woman enveloped in a white veil such as the ones the narrator seems to be describing in his account of Eastern women; the second depicts a woman in a veil with an easily removable camisole covering. These images demonstrate the types of garments that would protect female bodies from the male gaze.
There is another great difference between the general appearance in London and Damascus—viz., in the Eastern city, you see not the bright, joyous countenance of woman; she is deeply veiled. In Egypt she is enveloped from head to foot in a dark, and in Syria in a white sheet, which effectually obliterates all traces of shape, absolutely equalizes to the eye all ranks, ages, and conditions, and suggests to the beholder the idea of a company of ghosts. During five years in the East, I never saw the face of a woman in the streets, nor did I ever see the face of a Mahommedan lady at all! I walked into the house of a Moslem on one occasion without having signified m approach, when the ladies, being unveiled, raised such shouts of terror and indignations that I speedily made my way to the streets again. […] The feet may be seen, and much of the bosom also, in some places, but never the face. Conceive now how ludicrous the streets of London would appear, if green, white, black, and grey turbans moved indiscriminately, instead of the present hats; and that all the ladies walking, or on donkeys, instead of the present varieties of showy dress, beautiful bonnets, and smiling faces, presented only the appearance of headless ghosts clothed in white (36).
Images to illuminate this passage:
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