Pandita Ramabai's America: Conditions of Life in the United States

by Ramabai Sarasvati, Pandita; Frykenberg, Robert Eric; Gomes, Kshitija; Engblom, Philip C.

• ISBN13: 9780802812933
• ISBN10: 0802812937
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-07-01
• Publisher: Eerdmans Pub Co

Summary

Pandita Ramabai (1858-1922), renowned for her amazing learning in an age when most Indian women did not even learn to read, became a world-famous social reformer and speaker. When Ramabai's travels brought her to the United States, she decided to record her impressions of America and its citizens to share with her compatriots back home. Presenting in English the full text of Ramabai's well-written and charming work, this volume can be compared with that of Alexis de Tocqueville. In these pages Ramabai describes and assesses American domestic conditions, education, religious life, government, and business. While upholding some aspects of American life, especially the improved status of women, as ideals for her own country, Ramabai also makes insightful criticisms of life in the United States.

Table of Contents

Editor's Preface to the English Translation
Translation Editor's Preface
Pandita Ramabai Saraswati: A Biographical Introduction	p. 1
A Word to the Reader	p. 55
The Journey from Liverpool to Philadelphia	p. 59
The Nether World or the American Continent	p. 67
The System of Government	p. 87
Living Conditions	p. 113
Domestic Conditions	p. 127
The Pursuit of Learning	p. 173
Religious Creeds and Charity	p. 195
The Condition of Women	p. 213
Trade and Business	p. 281
Glossary	p. 315
Selected References	p. 319
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