The Life of an Egyptian Woman

The Life of an Egyptian Woman

by Emily Tarasenko
This is a sample piece of historical fiction written by a student in Dr. Vess's History 110 honors course during the Spring of 1995 at DeKalb College.

The life of an Egyptian woman
My name is Nitocris. I am the first queen ever known to have held a throne. I lived and reigned in ancient Egypt during what is now considered to be the final years of the Old Kingdom. My place is in this society is extremely important. Pharaohs are considered to be the link between the people and heaven, so naturally such an important religious figure as myself owns all of the land. In addition to my great power, my character is good and right. In the future, far in time from my present existence, a gallant historian will even refer to me as "the noblest and loveliest women of my time."
My life is one of splendor and luxury. I rise at dawn and dress in a long, sleeveless linen sheath. I live in a beautiful palace with vast amounts of furniture. Many of my possessions are adorned with the figures of Taweret and Bes, deities upon whom I rely for help and protection. My servants take care of all the trivial and insignificant aspects of my life as I do not have time for such things. You see, I must devote the majority of my time to religious ceremony. These ceremonies are of utmost importance and come before everything else, including governmental affairs. I am surrounded by trustworthy people who help me take care of the daily business of government.
Elite women, such as myself, are held in high regard in this society. We can erect a statue if we desire to. Also, we are frequently called "God's adorer" in the temple, and titles such as "Nebet Per--mistress of the house" and "Weret Khener--superior of the musical troupe of the temple" show our superiority. However, my life, with its inherent luxuries, is in complete contrast to the lives of other Egyptian women. "Average" Egyptian women cannot hold office. The whole purpose of their existence is simply to please men. The most important duty that they can perform is to bear children, especially sons. Marriages are arranged and most Egyptian men have several wives. In addition, most male Pharaohs posses a harem of wives. This marriage situation can cause many problems, such as competition between the wives. It is obvious that Polygamy is seen as being normal and natural in ancient Egypt.
In general, women in my time are perceived as being frivolous; therefore, on the whole, they do not command the respect that men do. So great is male dominance in my time that men are even allowed to beat their wives if they should misbehave. A wife on the loose is always suspected of having intentions to cheat on her husband. Infidelity, which is an acceptable behavior for men, is punishable by death for women. In pictures and statues you will find women pictured on the left side of the man--the subordinate position. In addition, women are never shown in the form of a block statue. The images that you will find of women in my time almost always have ideal figures.
However, despite all of these aforementioned negative aspects, women in ancient Egypt are still much better off than the women of many other ancient cultures. For example, divorce was allowed. Furthermore, women's property remained their own during marriage. Women are allowed to dedicate funerary stelae and do play some important roles in my society.
I am sure that my funeral was a grand event, as the funerals of rulers always are. I died when I purposely threw myself into a room full of ashes to escape any impending punishment that my deviant action would have brought. Let me explain: As the story goes, I came into power by the choice of the people after my brother was murdered. I knew the people who were responsible for his demise. Angry and hurt,I wanted revenge. In order to get them all together, I invited them to a banquet which was held in a recently built underground chamber. As expected, all of the people responsible for my brother's murder came to the chamber because they knew I was planning on inaugurating it. With the tragedy of my brother's death on my mind and an intense anger in my heart, I drowned all of the people feasting there by letting the river water come into the building through a huge concealed pipe in the wall. Afraid and alone, I then committed suicide. Unfortunately, my untimely death cut my reign short; I was in power for only two years. However, it was still quite an accomplishment for an Egyptian woman of my time to be a ruler and simultaneously manage to gain the respect that I earned.