Women's Worlds in Qajar Iran

Women's Worlds in Qajar Iran

Letter to Riza Quli Khan Nizam al-Saltanah

Letter to Riza Quli Khan Nizam al-Saltanah

The writer addresses Nizam al-Saltanah’s concern about the illness of Mirza Mahmud Khan and his conviction that the writer had not asked for a doctor and not written to him. S/he explains the steps taken for Mahmud Khan’s treatment, the people who have seen him, and that s/he has followed the andaruni’s advice in detail; the reason for not writing all the details was to avoid causing Nizam al-Saltanah to worry. The author also talks about the education of the children, noting that Mirza Taqi Khan has stopped taking French lessons for now, but that the andarun has emphasized that Khanum Kuchak should continue her French lessons now that more than five hundred tumans have been spent and that while she could learn sewing and cooking at the age of thirty, the time for language education is the present. However, s/he also points out that finding a good tutor is the only problem, because the current one, while trustworthy around women, is unpleasant and does not know Persian, but it is hard to find female tutors who are willing to come to the house. The writer then mentions that Mirza Taqi Khan wants a horse, but that that requires also having a servant to follow him around.

Item Details

  • Date early/mid 20th century
  • Dimensions 20 x 26 cm
  • Collections Mansoureh Ettehadieh -- ‘Izzat al-Saltanah
  • Repository Mansoureh Ettehadieh
  • Restrictions No restrictions
  • Accessed 4 September 2015
  • Last Edited 9 December 2016
  • Record no. 13104A24
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