Wikipedia Trail: from Swayamvara to Euphrosyne

When reviewing what happened in the Part A of the Mahabharata, I came across this word, Swayamvara. I wasn't sure what it was so I looked it up!

Swayamvara
A ceremony in which a woman chooses her husband from a list of suitors. It's interesting that a woman had the final say in her husband at this time in history!

Bride-show
This term was listed in the See Also section of the article. This ceremony is the complete opposite of the swayamvara. In this case the women are paraded around and the man chooses his bride. It made me think of the way VeggieTales portrayed the choosing of Esther as the bride for the king of Persia.

Maria of Amnia
On the article for bride-shows, it had a short list of See Also articles. Of those, I was familiar with two (Book of Esther and Beuaty Pageants), but completely unfamiliar with Maria of Amnia. I had never heard of her, but she is apparently one of the most famous examples of a bride-show woman. She was empress consort of the Byzantine Empire. Reading about her life, highlighted by the fact that she was chosen out of a bride-show, it is apparent how sadly passive she was in her life. Chosen by others, divorced by her husband, sent away, and becoming a nun. Though she was empress of one of the largest empires in history, her death date isn't recorded! This was the sad reality of women of her time. So far from the Indian culture and their swayamvaras!

Euphrosyne
In Maria of Amnia's article, it mentioned how her daughter,
Euphrosyne, was taken from the convent, against Maria's
protestations. I wondered what happened to her after she was taken from her mother and forced to be empress consort, a position her mother had held and was ejected from. She seemed somewhat more empowered than her mother, but after her husband died, returned to a convent to lead out a more quiet life. The great irony is that while her mother was chosen from a bride-show to begin a miserably passive life, Euphrosyne held a bride-show for her stepson!

Compare these two photos. One depicts a Swayamvara while the other depicts a bride-show. An empowered woman stands before her potential suitors while the sit and await her decision. A man inspects woman standing before him as they stand before him, avoiding eye contact. 

Source: Wikipedia

Source: Wikipedia