The First Lady of the Sultan

A striking feature of Mohammedan domestic life is the respect and obedience of children to their parents, going beyond what is customary among other civilized peoples. The son, if he marries, brings his wife home, and she is subject to his mother. If the father dies, the eldest son provides liberally for his mother; she is the head of his household and manages all his domestic affairs, unless he is rich enough to provide her with her own establishment.

The first lady in the Sultan's dominions in his mother. She has her own palace and retinue, and, if she have mental capacity, she not unfrequently exercises much influence in the affairs of State.

This position of a mother accounts for the intense longing of the Mohammedan woman for a son. So long as her son lives and does well, his mother is sure of a position of independence, of honor, and of authority.