The wives of British officials in colonial India
memsahibs, as they were called wrote extensively about their struggles of living in India. In my study of the literature produced by them, I often came across accounts of boredom, loneliness and melancholia, as they were frequently left alone in their remote bungalows when their husbands were on
raj duty. Housework did not take time because there was always an abundance of
ayahs, cooks, drivers and so on; unless they had a hobby, these wives had very little to do all day.
The
raj required little contribution from women; even if they wanted to be involved, they were consistently excluded from imperial activities. The lack of work and the utter lack of a purpose caused further boredom. Making matters worse was the absence of company or regular socializing around the lonely