International Journal Of Literature And Languages
119
https://theusajournals.com/index.php/ijll
VOLUME
Vol.05 Issue06 2025
PAGE NO.
119-122
10.37547/ijll/Volume05Issue06-34
The Representation of The Image of a Woman in
Proverbs
Tillayeva Oltinoy Bakhtiyorovna
Tashkent State University of Uzbek Language and Literature named after Alisher Navoi, 1st year basic doctoral student in Comparative
Literature, Comparative Linguistics and Translation Studies, Uzbekistan
Received:
23 April 2025;
Accepted:
19 May 2025;
Published:
21 June 2025
Abstract:
This article will deeply analyze proverbs and its special features as well, the image of women, their
differencial types and useage on it.
Keywords:
Proverb, woman, mother, bride, girl, beauty, image, family, husband, wife, love.
Introduction:
A proverb is one of the oldest examples
of folk oral creativity, a collection of sayings that have
been passed down from generation to generation.
The content of a proverb is clear, the conclusion is
complete, the expression is fluent, it always expresses
an instructive thought, and this thought is presented in
the form of an irrefutable judgment. This, in turn,
demonstrates the unique nature of the proverb.
The word proverb is borrowed from Arabic and means
“word”. A proverb is a genre in which the conclus
ions
drawn by our ancestors based on the events they have
seen and experienced for centuries are reflected.
Proverbs are our incomparable, endless and
inexhaustible spiritual heritage. This spiritual heritage
has been developing and refining for centuries. It is not
for nothing that they say among our people: “A proverb
is a proverb.” Proverbs are considered as a moral saying
that encourages a person to be patient and resilient in
overcoming obstacles encountered in life.
“There is no language that has not
created proverbs, no
people that has not used proverbs,” writes the famous
translation scholar G. Salomov.
We will not be mistaken if we say that the only genre
characteristic of every nation and every nation is
proverbs. At the same time, it is also clear that no other
literary genre can express and demonstrate the identity
and nationality of a nation as clearly as proverbs.
“Proverbs and sayings, which are an integral part of
culture, an important layer of language, have been
tested and refined in life for centuries, and have been
passed down from generation to generation,
emdiving the conclusions and just judgments of the
people about certain events and incidents, are
considered an invaluable spiritual wealth, the highest
point of absolute truth and wisdom for all periods of
human history.” .
It should also be noted that no proverb has ever seen
the world on its own. Each of them has gone through
long life experiences and trials and has been passed
down to future generations as a lesson. Proverbs have
a unique educational value because they are based on
centuries-old life experiences.
In proverbs, one can find various examples, models and
thoughts on various topics, and at the same time,
proverbs come in different forms according to their
spiritual characteristics. In particular, from the themes
of loyalty, love, loyalty and faithfulness to the
homeland, family, friend, loved one, to themes that
express human characteristics such as labor, laziness,
science and craft, etiquette, eloquence and upbringing,
nobility, as well as themes that discuss the history,
traditions and customs of a nation, one can find their
manifestations.
The concepts of husband and wife, which have been
considered a topic that has retained its relevance from
the distant past to the present, also have their place in
proverbs with their various characteristics. These two
concepts are sometimes embodied in opposite poles,
sometimes they are reflected side by side, closely
related. If the topic is Woman and related topics, then
the discussion will be more heated and more
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International Journal Of Literature And Languages (ISSN: 2771-2834)
controversial.
Uzbek folk proverbs also contain many lexical units that
serve to express the image of a woman, which reflect
the place of women in Uzbek culture, their status in
society and family, and the existing national views on
women. In proverbs, the image of a Woman is
described using words such as wife, mother, daughter
(girl), old woman, sister, sister, daughter-in-law, and
one can see how the views on women in society and
their social status, traditional ideas about women,
gender stereotypes and the distribution of figurative
roles are reflected.
Phraseological units that reflect the social status of a
woman can be cited as many examples and models.
"Social status" refers to the marital status of men and
women, including married and single women, married
and single men, as well as phraseologisms reflecting
kinship relationships.
-
The image of a woman in proverbs is expressed
in the image of a mother:
-
- Paradise lies under the feet of mothers.
-
- Mother's love is the mother of all love.
The highest, rarest, greatest and most beautiful status
of a woman is undoubtedly her embodiment in the
image of a mother. If it were necessary to describe a
mother's place in the sacred place called the family, to
her ungrateful and incomparable love for her children,
her compassionate gaze towards the world, and her
endless feminine beauty, then naturally there would
not be enough hours for this. The proverbs "Paradise
lies under the feet of mothers" and "Mother's love is
the mother of all loves" are also proof of our above
thoughts. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has wished and
dreamed of the value and status of every woman in the
status of motherhood throughout the lives of His
servants, and has placed the "Highest Paradise" at their
feet, which is considered to be of great wisdom.
Doesn't the fact that the mind cannot will and the fact
that the description of Paradise stands at the foot of
the status of motherhood indicate that this Woman,
Mother, is the miracle of the world? The topic is about
the love of a mother, her compassion, and no creature
has been given a higher title than hers. For this reason,
our dear people have created and described proverbs
about the image of a mother in this way.
- A house with a mother is a treasure, a house with a
father is a treasure.
- A mother's love is a sea, a father's love is a river.
- Parents are golden wings.
If we take a closer look at the interpretation of the
proverb “A house with a mother is a house of honor, a
hous
e with a father is a house of gold”, it is known from
ancient times that a woman is a symbol of honor, a
woman is a symbol of the highest pride of humanity on
her shoulders. That is, a woman may appear in unique
images such as a mother, a wife, a daughter, a sister or
a daughter-in-law, they all carry the honor and dignity
of society, nation and family on their shoulders. It is
clear from this that our ancient nation, entrusting the
issue of honor to women, is confident that they will
remain steadfast in this task until their last breath. In
memory of women who considered the honor of the
nation, people and family to be an honor, such
phraseological units as “a house with a mother is a
house of honor, a house with a father is a house of
gold” were born.
Continuing our discussion on the family, it is clear that
the father comes next to the mother. Although the
topic of the father is considered a separate, separate
topic in our proverbs, it is appropriate to look at the
interpretation that comes with the mother at this time.
If we get acquainted with the essence of the proverb
“Father and mother are golden wings”, and pay
attention to why they are compared to wings, we can
give the following explanations: not every human child
born into the world could grow up and live on his own.
He needs a mother bird who supports him like a bird's
nest, and wings to fly. Birds with folded wings or those
who have lost their wings are doomed to lifelong cages.
Life is like a black prison for birds without wings, so for
a human child, a human nest, these are golden wings,
invaluable blessings, to move forward on the path of
life without slipping or stumbling.
The love of parents, their unconditional help and care
for their children are topics worthy of being epics in
languages, which always come in the form of proverbs,
sayings, and epics.
- The mother of seven girls is still a bride.
In the above proverbs, we can see that a woman is
represented in the image of a mother. A woman, who
is considered the pillar of society, is first of all embodied
in the image of a mother, and it is no secret to anyone
that she is a symbol of endless love, loyalty, devotion
and loyalty. In particular, in the proverb “The mother of
seven girls is still a bride” itself, it is not difficult to
notice that no matter how old a woman is, how many
children she gives birth to, she is a butterfly in family
affairs like a new bride, without tiring of work and
service.
The appearance of the image of a woman in the image
of a woman:
- If a young man is smart, his wife will take care of him
from good deeds.
- Life with a wife is a flower, life without a wife is a
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International Journal Of Literature And Languages (ISSN: 2771-2834)
desert.
- A good wife is a blessing, a bad wife is a curse.
- A wife is the light of the house.
In the meaningful proverbs that our people have been
using in their daily lives, it can be said that the
appearance of a woman in the form of a Wife or Wife
is one of the most recurring themes. The above
proverbs, cited as examples, are aimed at revealing
how invaluable a woman's place in the family is, that
she is the light of the house, the flower of life, and
without her, neither the family nor the life will be
prosperous.
- A woman's cunning is a lesson to the devil.
- The room of a dead wife burns down.
- A bad wife ruins a house, a bad man ruins a wedding.
- A wife is the neck - the husband is the head.
- A wife is the lamp of the house.
- A wife is the adornment of the house, and a husband
is its labor.
- A wife is a wife after a husband, a lady after a lady.
- A wife is good, a husband is good.
- If your wife is good, your collar will turn gray, if your
wife is bad, your beard will turn gray.
- A wife is a mirror to her husband.
- If your wife is good, why go to a wedding, if your wife
is bad, why go to a funeral.
- A bad wife is the ego of life.
- A bad wife makes a husband old.
- A bad wife is the weakness of a husband, a good wife
is the perfection of a husband.
- A good wife is known when a guest comes.
- See a house without a wife, see a black earth.
- A wife's beauty is from the earth.
Undoubtedly, the topic of husband and wife has always
been one of the topics that has been the subject of
debate and discussion, and the woman's appearance as
the embodiment of a wife is the most common status
that we can encounter. The image of a woman,
embodied in the image of a woman, sometimes
embodies positive and sometimes negative coloring.
Among our people, a thousand different definitions
and metaphors have been given to the image of a
woman, and all of them are aimed at revealing the most
delicate and unique nature of a woman. For example,
in one of the examples such as “A man is a king, a
woman is a minister”
- it is highlighted that a woman is
worthy
of
intelligence,
eloquence,
foresight,
knowledge, career and status at the level of a minister,
while proverbs such as “A woman’s cunning is a lesson
to the devil” or “A woman is both a husband and a black
earth” express that it is she who, through her cunning
and evil, reduces a man to the level of black earth.
The image of a woman in the form of a girl/girl:
- A girl raised by a mother will be a head, a girl raised by
a father will be a youth.
- A girl raised by a mother will fight with the moon.
- Avoid a girl praised by her mother.
- Don't say you have a daughter, if you don't have the
eloquence.
- A girl is like an aunt, a boy is like an uncle.
- A beautiful girl has a charm.
- A girl's beauty is in her heart.
- A girl's beauty is good, a boy's perfection is good.
- A girl is a slingshot, don't throw it playfully, throw it
thoughtfully.
- The meat of a fat sheep is good, a smart mother's
daughter.
- Play with words, a girl with flirting.
- Take the girl who is praised by her younger brother.
We can also find very common examples of the image
of a woman, which we consider one of the main themes
of our folk proverbs, being embodied in the image of a
girl, a young girl, or a girl who has reached adulthood
and is about to get married. The fact that a girl child is
raised by her mother in a complete and beautiful way,
and that this delicate task can be carried out by single
mothers, has been discussed above with examples
from some proverbs.
The appearance of a woman in the image of a daughter-
in-law and mother-in-law:
- The bride is at the door, her son is in the cradle.
- The praised bride is spoiled at the wedding.
- The bride is from the threshold, her honor is from the
kitchen.
- The bride is the mother-in-law's broom.
- The bride and the mother-in-law, fire and water.
- If the mother-in-law does not boil, the daughter-in-
law will not vomit.
- Do not leave the girl whose cheek is praised.
- The mother-in-law loves her son-in-law, and the
father-in-law her daughter-in-law.
- A daughter-in-law with her mother-in-law is a scolding
bride, a daughter-in-law without her mother-in-law is a
mocking bride.
Continuing to analyze proverbs in the image of a
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International Journal Of Literature And Languages (ISSN: 2771-2834)
woman, the most important and at the same time the
most controversial image of a woman is, of course, the
theme of mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. In fact, it
is fair to say that in today's society, the topic is at the
back of our people's eyes.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the reflection of the image of a woman
in Uzbek proverbs, on the one hand, illuminates the
national worldview, and on the other hand, it also
shows gender stereotypes as a product of historical
social relations. The semantics and use of lexical units
expressing the image of a woman in Uzbek folk
proverbs vividly reflect the place of women in Uzbek
culture, their status in society and family, and the
existing national views on women, in which not only
positive qualities of women, but also negative ones are
artistically interpreted. They also reflect gender
stereotypes and traditional views of our people.
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