The temporary migration of males and the power of females in a stem-family society: The case of 19th-century Auvergne

• Published in: The history of the family 2001, Vol.6 (1), p.33-49
• Main Author: Duroux, Rose
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agriculture - economics; Agriculture - education; Agriculture - history; Agriculture - legislation & jurisprudence; Auvergne-19th century; Correspondence; Correspondence as Topic - history; Emigrants and Immigrants - education; Emigrants and Immigrants - history; Emigrants and Immigrants - legislation & jurisprudence; Emigrants and Immigrants - psychology; Emigration and Immigration - history; Emigration and Immigration - legislation & jurisprudence; Employment - economics; Employment - history; Employment - legislation & jurisprudence; Employment - psychology; Family Power; Female heirs; France; France - ethnology; History of medicine; History, 19th Century; Housekeeping - economics; Housekeeping - history; Housekeeping - legislation & jurisprudence; Husbands; Interpersonal Relations; Labor Migration; Marriage - ethnology; Marriage - history; Marriage - legislation & jurisprudence; Marriage - psychology; Men's Health - economics; Men's Health - ethnology; Men's Health - history; Men's Health - legislation & jurisprudence; Migrants' wives; Nineteenth Century; Nuclear Family - ethnology; Nuclear Family - psychology; Peasant woman; Peasants; Poverty - economics; Poverty - ethnology; Poverty - history; Poverty - legislation & jurisprudence; Poverty - psychology; Poverty Areas; Social Change - history; Social Class; Social Conditions - economics; Social Conditions - history; Social Conditions - legislation & jurisprudence; Spain; Spouses - education; Spouses - ethnology; Spouses - history; Spouses - legislation & jurisprudence; Spouses - psychology; Stem Family; Stem-family society; Temporary migration; The power of females; Wives; Women's Health - economics; Women's Health - ethnology; Women's Health - history; Women's Health - legislation & jurisprudence; Women's Rights - economics; Women's Rights - education; Women's Rights - history; Women's Rights - legislation & jurisprudence; Women, Working - education; Women, Working - history; Women, Working - legislation & jurisprudence; Women, Working - psychology; Womens History
• ISSN: 1081-602X; 1873-5398
• DOI: 10.1016/S1081-602X(01)00059-8

The phenomenon of men's migration from Auvergne to Spain in the 19th century is studied through the eyes of married peasant women. These migrants' wives had to change their way of life during their husbands' long absences, not only in bringing up their offspring, but also in hiring servants, and overseeing the work in the fields — often working there themselves. In many cases, they assumed full financial responsibilities. These women wrote to their husbands in French, although they spoke a country dialect. Unlike most of their neighbors, they developed their intellectual capacities and broadened their horizons. Their letters reveal how dignified and levelheaded the migrants' wives remained, and how they wanted to show themselves to best advantage. The men's letters, written in paternalistic tone implying the wives' submissiveness, were full of advice about how to cope with material difficulties. These peasant women were completely different than the bourgeois women of the same century: they learned to make decisions by themselves and take on a myriad of responsibilities, which often required self-sacrifice. Because of them, households were not disrupted.