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Society Expects Wife Abuse
Wife abuse is present in a very large number of folkstories about marriage. These stories are published repeatedly with no editorial comment on the unpunished crimes that are committed. Their very existence in collections without critical comment is a silent acceptance of the stories having educational and entertainment value.
In almost all abuse stories, the husband suffers little or no retribution. In the story, "The Woman Who Got Stuck," a husband becomes violent when he learns of his wife's infidelity.
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A wealthy merchant who wanted to please his wife brought her a special gift, a goose that can be roasted, eaten and then comes to life again. The wife was delighted. The next day while the husband was at work, the wife entertained her lover and tried to roast the goose. The goose would not cooperate, and when the wife hit the goose, she became stuck to the goose. The woman's lover and anyone else who tried to pry them apart immediately became stuck together. Everyone in town came running to view this strange sight. When the husband saw them, the wife became very frightened and confessed the truth. That broke the spell, and the group became unstuck. The husband attacked the lover with a stick and then took his wife home and beat her badly.
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The husband in this story saw himself as the final arbiter of his wife's behavior. His actions are presented as appropriate for a wronged man. The story confirms his right to determine and administer punishment. This view coincides with current research about batterers, as Demie Kurz observes:
| Interviews with batterers . . . show that men believe they are justified in their use of violence by their wives' behavior or by what they feel are accepted norms.
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Citing earlier laws and judicial decisions, Kurz points to the long history of societal support for and acceptance of a husband's right to use force to control his wife. Recognizing that laws have now changed to grant women more legal protection, she nevertheless finds that many police officers, judges, health professionals, etc., continue to believe that wife battering is a family affair.
Wife Beating Is Effective
The efficacy of wife-beating is demonstrated by the Shrew changing her disagreeable ways and becoming a docile and obedient Good Woman. As Bart pointed out regarding the American scene, "Physical force or the threat of violence are routinely employed [by men] if other means of control [of women] fail." Folkstories support this conclusion, as illustrated in the story, "The Woman Who Loved Fairytales."
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