Throughout history, women have been seen as weak, unintelligent, and unimportant. A majority of the world’s cultures today have a history of viewing women as inferior, and have forced females to suffer the curse of living in a chauvinistic, male dominated world. However, Marco Polo’s book, The Travels of Marco Polo, presents a new view of women centered in 13th century Asia: as powerful, economic staples to a culture dominated by masculine rules and views. Although most women in the book are not given a choice in the outcomes of their own lives, they stand as vital and influential symbols of the significant power that the presence of females holds over a society which is superficially dominated by males. Through their roles as status elevation tools, items of trade, and regional advertisements, the women in The Travels of Marco Polo become a crucial item with which the culture of Asia is dependent upon.
First, Polo presents the reader with the wives of the Tartars, who are “allowed as many wives as they want” (Polo 77; Signet). The expense of having each additional wife is not costly because “the benefit [the husband] derives from their training and the work they do is considerable” (Polo 77; Signet). Here, a man’s wife elevates his position in society by increasing his output of materials and services, which in turn increases his monetary gain. His possession of these women also prevents him from being forced to hire servants to complete tasks. Increased profit and decreased spending results in the husband amassing a hoard of wealth. Since social status is determined by wealth and personal possession, in this case money and women, the husband has the high potential to be seen as successful by his peers and superiors, and may begin to be included in social circles where his status is elevated. Furthermore, because he has a larger amount of money available to him, he has the ability to purchase land and thus increase his position in society.
Another example of women as a status elevation tool is seen in an area of Cathay, where women are taken in exchange for political office. Polo writes of Lord Lieutenant Achmat, “a shrewd and able man,” who promises a man “a post or office for three years” in exchange for his daughter’s hand in marriage (Polo 113; Signet). The interest in a man’s daughter is the initial spark for the bargain, and following Achmat’s promise of office and the father’s acquiescence, his daughter is taken away and the deal is solidified. In addition to the evident rise from plebeian to patrician, he is given special privileges as a result of his crooked dealings. By exchanging his daughter for a political position, the man is promised at least three years of paid work, which allows him to climb the social ladder and make connections with important men he might not have otherwise had the chance to meet.
Second, women are used as a commodity in Polo’s book as political prizes and items for trade. Preceding the battle between Genghis Kahn and Prester John, the Khan writes a letter to Prester John “demanding his daughter in marriage” (Polo 73; Signet). Prester John reacts negatively to this bold request and declares war, which ultimately results in his own death and his daughter’s marriage to Genghis Khan. Through Prester John’s defeat in the battle, his daughter is taken as a spoil of war, as if she were a fine painting or a prized horse. Additionally, Kublai Khan “always” offers his daughters in marriage “to [King George] and other princes of his home” (Polo 86; Signet). Since a portion of the territory of Tenduk is bound in service to the Khan, and because the Khan is also bound in an agreement of military protection towards Tenduk, the Khan must keep favorable relations open between himself and King George. If a disagreement sparks between them, the Khan may lose the service of Tenduk, and the inhabitants of Tenduk may lose the protection of the emperor. Kublai Khan’s daughters are given to George and his court in exchange for peace between the two kingdoms: the Khan uses these girls as political safety nets to ensure his control over his fiefdom.
Furthermore, in the city of Sinju, Polo writes of men who are “much addicted to sexual indulgence” and “are free to take as many [wives] as they wish and as they can afford to keep” (Polo 105; Penguin). However, in exchange for these wives, they must pay a “rather large sum of money” to their mothers, which agreed upon by both parties; only after this fee is paid to the mother is the man allowed to leave with his new wife. In this exchange of specie for a human being, the daughter is represented as an object of trade rather than as an in individual, and is sold off like a chicken or a goat. By using her daughter as a commodity, the mother frees herself of the burden of caring for a child and gains a substantial amount of money with which she may spend on household items, clothing, or livestock. In doing so, she contributes to the economy of her village and increases the circulation of specie.
Finally, the most important and common role of women in Polo’s book is that of regional advertisement. Throughout Polo’s account of his travels, he writes of the beauty of women, the favors they offer to travelers, and the prostitutes who offer their services to the rich and the poor. All of these assist in bolstering a positive trade connection between the Eastern regions he speaks of and Western Europe.
In Polo’s account of the province of Timochain and of the province of Kesmur, the women in both regions are described as being very “beautiful,” and Polo goes so far as to say that the women in Timochain are “the most beautiful in the world” (Polo 46, 55; Signet). The attractiveness of these women as described by Polo creates an ad for the region within the confines of a traveler’s handbook, and allows the traveler to know where to go for the most beautiful women in the world. His venture there, besides being a hunt for attractive females, may also become an economic opportunity for both cultures, for while he is there, he will need food and shelter and possibly transportation.
Moreover, women provide advertisement for the region of Tibet through their voluntary premarital sex with travelers. In Tibetan culture, a woman is considered more desirable if she has had numerous sexual partners before her marriage. Therefore, “upon the arrival of a caravan of merchants” each daughter is taken by her mother to the strangers in the caravan and is offered up to them for one night (Polo 153; Signet). However, it is encouraged that each traveler bestow “trinkets, rings, or other tokens of their regard” to the girl in exchange for her services. Upon the girls’ return to their village, whichever young lady is most adorned from the previous night has the best chance for being chosen by a man of her village for marriage. This custom of offering young girls to travelers is a highly motivating invitation for travel to the Tibetan region, and Polo even goes on to say that “Obviously, the country is a fine one to visit for a lad from sixteen to twenty-four” (Polo 173; Penguin). The tale of this practice mixed with Polo’s encouragement to travel to Tibet makes this a bold and highly appealing advertisement. Along with marketing the region through local culture, these women and their daughters are opening up potential trade relations between traders from western Europe and merchants from their home villages.
Lastly, Prostitutes are a primary source of advertisement in The Travels of Marco Polo. In the city of Taidu, Polo writes that there are over 20,000 “women of the world” living in the suburbs who have a “captain general” who is responsible for hundreds to thousands of prostitutes (Polo 129; Penguin). When ambassadors travel to Kublai Khan’s city, the captain general chooses a number of women and takes them to the Khan’s palace. These women, when under the service of the Khan, are rotated nightly from man to man and are not given payment except for the protection of the Khan. Polo notes that “from the number of these prostitutes you may infer the number of traders…who are daily coming and going here” (Polo 130; Penguin). Regardless of which social class the reader belongs to, they are immediately enticed to visit the region. If they are an aristocratic ambassador they will meet with a prostitute free of charge; if they are a travelling merchant, they might find themselves in a brothel in the suburbs of Taidu. Either way, travelers visiting the region are likely to be seduced by these sexual advertisements, and in addition, may find themselves trading with local merchants.
Although the objectification of women in these instances is initially negative, the power they have over trade and the Eastern economy is highly significant. Without the use of women as status elevation tools, trade items, and sexual publicity, the economy in the areas Polo explored would have fallen to ruin because of a lack of reputation and wealth increases, controllable human goods, and physically appealing advertisements. It is ironic that a culture and economy so dominated by the male sex is reliant upon the females whom they exploit and trade. Perhaps Polo’s accounts can assist today’s societies in identifying the female sex as a once crucial role in Asia’s economy, and therefore allow for a deeper respect for women and the important roles they play in today’s society: not as objects of trade, but as people of power and purpose.
Works Cited
Polo, Marco. The Travels of Marco Polo. Ed. Milton Rugoff. New York, NY: Signet Classics, 2004. Print.
Polo, Marco. The Travels of Marco Polo. Ed. R. E. Latham. London, England: Penguin, 1958. Print.
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