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HUSBANDS AND WIVES IN A MEXICAN VILLAGE: A STUDY OF ROLE CONFLICT 1

1949; Wiley; Volume: 51; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1525/aa.1949.51.4.02a00050

1548-1433

Oscar Lewis,

Latin American and Latino Studies

CCORDING to the ideal patterns for husband-wife relations in Tepoztlan, A the husband is viewed as an authoritarian, patriarchal figure who is head and master of the household and who enjoys the highest status in the family.His prerogatives are to receive the obedience and respect of his wife and children, as well as their services.It is the husband who is expected to make all important decisions and plans for the entire family.He is responsible for the support of the family and for the behavior of each member.The wife is expected to be submissive, faithful, devoted and respectful toward her husband.She should seek his advice and obtain his permission before undertaking any but the most minor activities.A wife should be industrious and frugal and should manage to save money no matter how little her husband's income.A good wife should not be critical, curious, or jealous of her husband's activities outside the home.As might be expected, there is considerable discrepancy between this ideal pattern and the behavior of the people.Although in most homes there is an outward compliance to the ideal, with the wife apparently submissive and devoted, there are actually few homes in which the husband truly controls his family.Furthermore, most marriages show some conflict ever the question of authority and the respective roles of the spouses.The most placid marriages are those in which the husband is not too overbearing toward his wife and the wife does little to challenge the authority of the husband.On the other hand, conflict is most acute in those families in which the husband is so insecure that he becomes a violent and fear-inspiring figure or the woman is openly aggressive and actively attempts to dominate the husband.The standards of behavior set by women for their husbands and for themselves are influenced by their own needs and experiences and are not always consistent with the ideal roles.Women of the older generation tend to conform This paper is part of a larger study of the village of Tepoztlan, Morelos, Mexico.Tepoztlan has approximately 3,500 people distributed in 853 families.The population consists of peasants, artisans, and merchants, but the village is primarily agricultural.Tepoztlan was first studied by Robert Redfield in 1926 (see his Tepoztlam, A Mexican Village, University of Chicago Press, 1930).The village was restudied by the writer with the aid of Ruth Lewis and Mexican assistants.We spent a total of two years in the village during three field trips between 1943 and 1948.