172. When A Woman Lives Alone

When a woman lives alone, her house should be
extremely dilapidated, the mud wall should be
falling into pieces, and if there is a pond, it
should be overgrown with water-plants. It is not
essential that the garden be covered with sage-
brush; but weeds should be growing through the sand
in patches, for this gives the place a poignantly
desolate look.

I greatly dislike a woman's house when it is clear
that she has scurried about with a knowing look on
her face, arranging everything just as it should
be, and when the gate is kept tightly shut.

s.s. (965 - 1010)