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.
Author(s): Hilary Callan, Shirley Ardener
Series: Routledge Library Editions: Women and Work, 2
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 244
City: London
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
