新娘

　　When the "Wedding March" is played, the bride's att endants enter: the maid or matron of honor, and the flo wer girls. The bride enters last, usually escorted by h er father, who will give her away to the groom who has been waiting at the altar. It is almost certain that be hind the custom of giving the bride away lies the fact of marriage by purchase. Throughout much of human histo ry, brides were sold, not given, to their husbands. The purchase aspect is not evident in terms, nut that is du e to linguistic disguise; this choice of word reflects the same makeup that goes on when the phone company pro mises to "give" you good service.

　　In may societies women are still sold to their husb ands, but many people now are holding an elegant opinio n about the custom. They believe that as his child, she is a gift of God and may only be bestowed on another (h er husband ) in the same manner in which she was "recei ved " —that is, giving her away without cash or other c onsideration. The custom of handing over the bride by h er father to the bridegroom at a wedding seems like a c hange of the woman's status, that is, from the good dau ghter of her father to the good wife of her husband. (t o be continued )

　　by Huang Yi