The Impact of the Inner Court’s Internal Reform on Palace Women during the Reign of King Chulalongkorn

บทคัดย่อ

The internal reform that took place in the inner court of Siam during the reign of King Chulalongkorn was motivated by the increase in the number of palace women and rising criticisms of their restricted roles by Westerners. The inferior status of Siamese women as seen in accounts by Western visitors served as the inspiration for the Thai monarchs to transform the inner court. This article aims to demonstrate that the court of King Chulalongkorn’s reign underwent a significant reform, which highlights newly defined roles of the inner court women and the emergence of both aristocratic and non-aristocratic women’s public roles. Through the analyses of primary accounts, scholarly works, and relevant internet sources, this article argues that the transition of inner court women from the domestic sphere into the public sphere had begun by the end of the nineteenth century as the impact of the palace’s new administrative reform. From the senior roles to the female guards, the doors were opened for the first time to inner court women of all classes. The findings demonstrate that palace women enjoyed a certain level of autonomy and had strengthened their training and skills, which contributed to the enhancement of women’s status in the subsequent decades. This article emphasises the evidence of women’s active roles in the absolutist years that is not represented in Thai official historiography and highlights the beginning of the rise of aristocratic women in the public sphere.