The Incorporated Wife

Description

Originally published in 1984, this book touches the private lives and professional responsibilities of men and women, as it illustrates the comic as well as serious effects of the ‘incorporation’ of wives into some important State and commercial institutions. Beyond their domestic functions, wives have, in particular ways, been valuable props to many a husband’s career and many an employer’s and the nation’s interests. For example, the Army, civil administrations at home and overseas, and the police have, without questioning, depended on the services of wives – given silently, willingly or unwillingly. Yet the nature of the relationship of these ‘incorporated’ wives to the objectives of such institutions has, until recently, been largely unregistered in practice, unrecorded in social and historical accounts and unstudied by analysts. This book provides a wealth of ethnographic material. Personal anecdotes and scholarly interpretations throw light on the conceptual systems underlying the workings and cultures of institutions, as well as the construction of identities. Many will find their experiences echoed here. The issues raised are important not only for individual men and women, for whom such ‘incorporation’ may provide advantages as well as constraints, but because of the bearing they have on our understanding of marriage, especially since we cannot be sure this will continue in its present mode or as the dominant form of conjugal union. As more married women assume greater responsibilities at work, will their husbands give the same support to their wives and those who employ them as they themselves received? Further, it seems likely that wives may become less willing than in the past to render their services unacknowledged – indeed this trend is already apparent. We may ask, then, ‘who will fill the gaps?’, and ‘how will institutions change?’. The historical and contemporary studies here provide some base data and some theoretical approaches necessary for any who may wish to consider what will become increasingly acute practical questions. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Frontispiece Original Title Page Original Copyright Page Table of Contents Illustrations Preface 1. Introduction Incorporation: Constituting the Problem Wives as Fiction: Wives in Fiction Private and Public Spheres Again The Proper Recognition of the Personal Hierarchy and Representation The Boundaries of the System Becoming and Being ‘Wives Talk’ The Moral Transaction: Implications for a Theory of Marriage 2. Incorporation and Exclusion: Oxford Academics’ Wives Introduction The Nineteenth Century The Early Twentieth Century After World War I The Second World War and After College Spaces ‘A Life of Their Own’ Small Talk Final Remarks 3. Ambivalence and Dedication: Academic Wives in Cambridge University, 1870–1970 Introduction: The Background Women as Scholars and Women as Wives From Clerics to Professional Academics: The Transformation of the Don Cambridge 1960–1970 Academic Entertaining: A Breakdown in Reciprocity? Conclusion: The Compensations 4. Police Wives: A Reflection of Police Concepts of Order and Control Introduction Categories of Wives In the Country: The ‘Single-Beat’ Wife On the Estate The Owner/Occupier Wife How They Marry: Whom They Marry Conclusion 5. Camp Followers: A Note on Wives of the Armed Services Introduction The Long Road to Recognition Wifehood and Motherhood ‘Womanly’ Qualities in a ‘Man’s World’ Conclusion: Ways of Organizing in the 1980’s. 6. The Suitable Wife: Preparation for Marriage in London and Rhodesia/Zimbabwe Introduction Learning for Marriage A ‘Finishing School’ in London: 1890–1950 A Homecraft School in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe: 1943–1981 Contrast and Comparison ‘Good’ Wife, ‘Suitable Wife’ or ‘Superwife’? Conclusion 7. Shell Wives in Limbo Introduction Shell Company and the ‘Shell Man’ Shell Wives Going Overseas The Recognized Contribution of Wives Conformity and Tolerance The ‘Shell Wife Identity’ Loyalty, Resilience and Sociability Female Gatherings Mixed Gatherings The End of the Posting: Home or Limbo Land? 8. The Negation of Structure: A Note on British Council Wives Introduction: The British Council as an Institution Internal Structure Sources of Group Identity Employment Attitude of Wives to the Council The Home Posting The British Council Wives’ Association Conclusion 9. Settler Wives in Southern Rhodesia: A Case Study Introduction The Environment An Historical Framework Population Pioneering Life in Towns Women Married to Farmers Wives of Miners Wives of Administrators Space: Physical and Social Domestic Servants Women and Work Conclusion 10. Colonial Wives: Villains or Victims? Introduction Colonial Service as an Organizational Type Women and Colonial Service: Uganda Women’s Contribution to the Colonial System The Conditions of Colonial Life Patterns of Coping The Perspective of the External Observer Conclusions 11. Memsahibs in Colonial Malaya: A Study of European Wives in a British Colony and Protectorate, 1900–1940 Introduction: A Stereotype and Its Sources A Note on Sources and Method Historical Background Wives as a Distinct Group The Contributions and Functions of Wives Factors Dividing Wives Conclusion Bibliography Indexes