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Never Marry a Woman With Big Feet: Women in Proverbs from Around the World
In cultures throughout the world, sex and gender issues have been expressed in proverbs, the world's most concise literary genre. Never Marry a Woman with Big Feet provides revealing insights into the female condition across centuries and continents, as recorded in thousands of vivid and earthy proverbs about women. Mineke Schipper explores the similarities, differences, and contradictions that coexist in cultural norms about gender from hundreds of languages and over 150 countries. Grouping the sayings into such categories as the female body, love, sex, childbirth, and female power, she finds stunning patterns in ideas about women€”and men. This cross-cultural study and critical analysis of proverbs about women is a unique and intriguing resource to dip into again and again. "A fine contribution to the cosmopolitan conversation that ought to come about globalization."€”K. Anthony Appiah, Princeton University "A fascinat
350 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2004
About the author
Mineke Schipper
47 books27 followersMineke Schipper is a Dutch author of non-fiction and fiction. As a scholar she is best known for her work on comparative literature mythologies and intercultural studies.
Mineke Schipper studied French and Philosophy at Amsterdam Free University and Literary Theory, followed by Comparative Literary Studies at the University of Utrecht. She started her career teaching French and African Literature at the Université Libre du Congo (between 1964 and 1972). She received her PhD in Amsterdam in 1973, writing the first thesis in the Netherlands on African literature) and dedicated herself to developing the field of intercultural literary studies. In 1988 she became the first Professor of Intercultural Literary Studies in the Netherlands, at the Free University of Amsterdam. In 1993 she moved to Leiden University where she played a dynamic role in building intercultural bridges in researching and lecturing comparative literature in a global context.
In 1999 she received an honorary doctorate from Chengdu University (Sichuan Province) in China. Since 2000 she has been regularly invited by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) where she collaborates with colleagues on projects about epics and creation myths. In December 2008 she gave her farewell address at the University of Leiden.
Mineke Schipper lives in Amsterdam.
Mineke Schipper studied French and Philosophy at Amsterdam Free University and Literary Theory, followed by Comparative Literary Studies at the University of Utrecht. She started her career teaching French and African Literature at the Université Libre du Congo (between 1964 and 1972). She received her PhD in Amsterdam in 1973, writing the first thesis in the Netherlands on African literature) and dedicated herself to developing the field of intercultural literary studies. In 1988 she became the first Professor of Intercultural Literary Studies in the Netherlands, at the Free University of Amsterdam. In 1993 she moved to Leiden University where she played a dynamic role in building intercultural bridges in researching and lecturing comparative literature in a global context.
In 1999 she received an honorary doctorate from Chengdu University (Sichuan Province) in China. Since 2000 she has been regularly invited by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) where she collaborates with colleagues on projects about epics and creation myths. In December 2008 she gave her farewell address at the University of Leiden.
Mineke Schipper lives in Amsterdam.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 16, 2014
كتاب جميل وطريف في الوقت نفسه، لكنه أكاديمي في جانب كبير منه، إذ يتضمن تحليلات ومقارانات تاريخية بين الأمثال في كافة دول العالم والحضارات
September 14, 2020
Absolutely fascinating--as a fan of language and linguistics, this was a delight!
February 11, 2013
This book is hilarious and helpful at the same time. One caution is: don't take it seriously. The proverbs ex-aggregate the truth a little bit, sometimes too much! But it has some truth in it, since proverbs are basically based on accumulated experience of many, many generations.
I could summarize the book in the following: 1) women are hard to please, because women aren't sure what's good for them. Therefore, men should not worry about what women say, men should rather be proactive and take the initiative. 2) women ought to follow men, and never be followed by men. 3) women cannot live without men, neither men can, but women need men even more than men need women. 4) The best woman is the one who's innocent, mild, tender and well-mannered, while the worst woman is the one who's disobedient, unsociable, drama-queen and trouble-maker. 5) God created women to fit nurturing tasks such as mothers, housewives, nurses, psychiatrists, teachers, etc.
There's one proverb that was not mentioned in this book, that I find funny and true!
It says: -Women want toasted ice :D
I could summarize the book in the following: 1) women are hard to please, because women aren't sure what's good for them. Therefore, men should not worry about what women say, men should rather be proactive and take the initiative. 2) women ought to follow men, and never be followed by men. 3) women cannot live without men, neither men can, but women need men even more than men need women. 4) The best woman is the one who's innocent, mild, tender and well-mannered, while the worst woman is the one who's disobedient, unsociable, drama-queen and trouble-maker. 5) God created women to fit nurturing tasks such as mothers, housewives, nurses, psychiatrists, teachers, etc.
There's one proverb that was not mentioned in this book, that I find funny and true!
It says: -Women want toasted ice :D
March 12, 2011
It opens one's eyes to some facts -funny and unknown.
October 16, 2013
É, sem dúvida, um livro informativo. Falta-lhe o carácter narrativo. Claro que tem o seu quê de interessante e engraçado. Mas desiludiu-me
November 3, 2024
In his most generous avatar, when man waxes eloquent about a woman, he inevitably burdens them. The woman must then pay the price of being ideal in his eyes. A specimen on display for the brokers of social currency to admire and acknowledge his possession. And when a woman does not hold up to his ideals, they lose their eminence. The woman has betrayed a man's intelligence. He feels insulted. Man can't withstand this supposed brazen violation of his ideas about them that he so painstakingly disguised as allegories to embellish their body, their character, their intelligence. Their sovereignty.
The supposed man of ideals found a way to put a tag on a woman who was never for him to commoditise. He vilifies them with metaphors. And so do scores of patriarchal women.
I grew up with a peculiar disdain for proverbs in general. I'd often debate with my grandma (a human being of courage and a cornucopia of non-gendered Bengali proverbs who has now passed on) about how proverbs turn intelligent, knowledgeable folks into subservient parrots. What I liked about this book is that it not only echoes the same idea, but additionally establishes how proverbs are also a means for exerting control over the intended target.
The title of the book, though a proverb meant to warn men, doubles up as an FU to them. The book is a crash course on how different cultures pass on narratives about women from one generation to the next through rancid metaphors; their view of women of all ages.
Give this book a read if you wish to add another dimension to your loathing for insecure men who subjugate women with their tongue. Full props to Mineke Schipper for her research, hence the 4 stars. Else it's a 3.
Here are all the Bengali proverbs from the book:
A happy family life is because of a woman’s virtue.
Women have honeyed lips, but their heart is full of poison.
Though she covers her face with her veil, she still manages to be coquettish.
One good daughter is worth ten sons if she can find a good bridegroom.
Do not pamper your daughter; what would she do if abducted by a Turk?
When she was the only wife, she was treated like a goddess; now that she has a co-wife, she is cast out on the garbage heap.
It is better to let one’s husband die than to give him to a co-wife.
Fortunately the husband died. Now the two co-wives are friendly to wives, co-wives, widows and each other.
A man with one wife gets his food served in time; with two wives, he waits a long time for his food to come.
The tail of a pike is always black; nowhere in the world will you find a good mother-in-law.
My mother-in-law scolds her daughter in order to teach me.
It is very distressing for a daughter-in-law to be controlled by a wicked mother-in-law.
My daughter-in-law is very good at doing useless things like chopping a gourd.
When foolishness was distributed, my daughter-in-law received a generous share of it.
I shall be the mistress of the homestead and go to the bathing-place with my keys hanging on my sari
A woman who is not sexually active is counted as old.
The more longings, the more disappointments.
The bride is ashamed to eat, but nonetheless swallows the banana whole.
My darling wife, please do not cook for me. I shall eat raw rice, please do not cry.
When one’s mother is the cook, one is happy round the year.
A woman’s strength is in her tears, a thief’s in his lies.
A stepmother is poison for the whole house.
If a woman shows greater care for a child than its own mother, then surely she is a witch.
Daughters and land: root of all evil.
Do not believe in the roots of yams, muddied water, and woman’s words.
Praise a woman only when she is cremated and her ashes are scattered.
She who laughs often or walks with bold steps is a harlot.
A man beats a wife at home only when he has no public status.
Give me an educated mother, and I’ll give you a prosperous nation. (a variation of Napolean's words)
The supposed man of ideals found a way to put a tag on a woman who was never for him to commoditise. He vilifies them with metaphors. And so do scores of patriarchal women.
I grew up with a peculiar disdain for proverbs in general. I'd often debate with my grandma (a human being of courage and a cornucopia of non-gendered Bengali proverbs who has now passed on) about how proverbs turn intelligent, knowledgeable folks into subservient parrots. What I liked about this book is that it not only echoes the same idea, but additionally establishes how proverbs are also a means for exerting control over the intended target.
The title of the book, though a proverb meant to warn men, doubles up as an FU to them. The book is a crash course on how different cultures pass on narratives about women from one generation to the next through rancid metaphors; their view of women of all ages.
Give this book a read if you wish to add another dimension to your loathing for insecure men who subjugate women with their tongue. Full props to Mineke Schipper for her research, hence the 4 stars. Else it's a 3.
Here are all the Bengali proverbs from the book:
A happy family life is because of a woman’s virtue.
Women have honeyed lips, but their heart is full of poison.
Though she covers her face with her veil, she still manages to be coquettish.
One good daughter is worth ten sons if she can find a good bridegroom.
Do not pamper your daughter; what would she do if abducted by a Turk?
When she was the only wife, she was treated like a goddess; now that she has a co-wife, she is cast out on the garbage heap.
It is better to let one’s husband die than to give him to a co-wife.
Fortunately the husband died. Now the two co-wives are friendly to wives, co-wives, widows and each other.
A man with one wife gets his food served in time; with two wives, he waits a long time for his food to come.
The tail of a pike is always black; nowhere in the world will you find a good mother-in-law.
My mother-in-law scolds her daughter in order to teach me.
It is very distressing for a daughter-in-law to be controlled by a wicked mother-in-law.
My daughter-in-law is very good at doing useless things like chopping a gourd.
When foolishness was distributed, my daughter-in-law received a generous share of it.
I shall be the mistress of the homestead and go to the bathing-place with my keys hanging on my sari
A woman who is not sexually active is counted as old.
The more longings, the more disappointments.
The bride is ashamed to eat, but nonetheless swallows the banana whole.
My darling wife, please do not cook for me. I shall eat raw rice, please do not cry.
When one’s mother is the cook, one is happy round the year.
A woman’s strength is in her tears, a thief’s in his lies.
A stepmother is poison for the whole house.
If a woman shows greater care for a child than its own mother, then surely she is a witch.
Daughters and land: root of all evil.
Do not believe in the roots of yams, muddied water, and woman’s words.
Praise a woman only when she is cremated and her ashes are scattered.
She who laughs often or walks with bold steps is a harlot.
A man beats a wife at home only when he has no public status.
Give me an educated mother, and I’ll give you a prosperous nation. (a variation of Napolean's words)
May 2, 2022
ليس مجرد كتاب يجمع الامثلة من ثقافات الشعوب والاعراق المختلفة ويحصرها فقط...بل يعد هذا الكتاب دراسة مفصلة عن جميع وجهات النظر فيما يخص النساء ....والامثلة منظمة جدا ومرتبة بالتسلسل وفهرس الكتاب منظم جدا أبواب وفضول فرعية ....وبضعة سطور مهمة بعد كل مثل فيها شرح لوجهة نظر المثل ووجهة نظر الشعب الذى اطلق المثل.كتاب مهم وضخم وعلى رغم فى انه يأتى فى ٦٥٠ صفحة تقريياً إلا إنه شيق وغير رتيب بالمرة وليس من الضرورى أن يقُرأ بالترتيب ...بل يقرأعلى حسب أهتمام الباحث وتركيزه على موضوع معين يخص ثقافة شعب تجاه النساء.
October 30, 2026
قعدت أقرا إياك والزواج من كبيرة القدمين: النساء في أمثال الشعوب وكل ما أحس إني عرفت الاتجاه ألاقي Mineke Schipper لف من ورايا. التحولات مش بتيجي من حدث ضخم، بتيجي من جملة عابرة في حوار عادي. ده بيخليك تقرا بحذر زي واحد ماشي في بيت فيه مفاجآت. لمن بيحب الانتباه الكامل، ولمن بيقرا وهو مشغول.
October 1, 2024
Very comprehensive, but also massively depressing.
August 24, 2012
A Bertrand Brasil tem editado livros que focam este novo lugar da mulher no mundo a partir da denúncia e da adoção de uma postura crítica, entre eles O Livro Negro da Condição das Mulheres, organizado por Christine Ockrent e Sandrine Treiner, Rompendo o Silêncio, de Alice Walker, e A Dominação Masculina, de Pierre Bourdieu.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews