- English translation
Better my husband's fire than my father's paradise.
- Literal wording
My husband's fire, and not my father's paradise.
- Meaning and lesson
The speaker, a married woman, declares that life in her husband's household, with all its troubles and shortcomings, is preferable to her father's home, however pleasant. The image of fire against paradise stresses how strongly she prefers her marital place; the hardship meant is left vague.
The proverb reflects an outlook in which a wife's proper place is her husband's household, so it voices that view rather than neutral advice. Within it, the saying expresses loyalty to one's own household, ranking that belonging above comfort found under someone else's roof.
- When it is used
Fits a wife explaining why she stays in her marital home through difficulty instead of returning to her parents. It belongs to intimate conversation and needs care, since it can sound like urging endurance of an unhappy or harmful marriage, which it should not be taken to approve.
- Register
- Colloquial
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
Report an issue with this meaning: Better my husband's fire than my father's paradise.