The Position of Women in Hindu Civilisation, from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day c7.s4.17

c7.s4.17

When from *c.* 200 A. D. child marriages became the order of the day, the state of affairs changed. Girls of 10 or 12 were incapable of exercising any choice worth the name, and so the whole responsibility gradually fell upon the father. The Hindu father has been always trying to discharge this responsibility with a solicitude, that has justly become proverbial. He passes sleepless nights when his daughter approaches the marriageable age. He does not mind even the insults that he has sometimes to pocket while searching for a proper son-in-law. In order to secure a very desirable match, he often spends much more than what is the legitimate share of his daughter in the ancestral property. If she is very young, he cannot have the benefit of her mature views; but his wife’s guidance in the matter usually ensures a selection that meets with his daughter’s approval, when grown up. Long association with each other before the rise of sex consciousness usually results in a genuine mutual attachment between the couple.